Where Are You Christmas
by Pink-Green-White-4ever
Summary: A series of one shots inspired by the Faith Hill song, Where Are You Christmas, from The Grinch Who Stole Christmas sdtk. Done: SS, NM, WJ, CD, CK, MR, VX, TK, AR, FG, ZK, BT, CA, ZK
1. 1: Pink Is Longing For Her Blue Red

Where Are You Christmas

Chapter 1: Pink's longing for her Blue-Red

By: PInk-Green-White-4ever

Last Revised: December 12, 2006

Summary: Its two years post SPD, and a certain Pink Ranger finds she's longing for the man she secretly fell in love with…especially when she thinks she's lost him

Rating: T

Ship: Pink/Blue-Red

--

"The common room looks wonderful guys," Kat grinned as she looked around the room at all the decorations that were up. The Rangers had organized the other cadets in a mission to make the base feel a little more like Christmas than it had a year before, when reconstruction had still been going on.

"That's Syd's doing," Z quipped before popping the end of her candy cane into her mouth.

"She certainly outdid herself," Kat smiled. "Speaking of Syd, where has she been lately? I hardly see her on duty anymore?"

Bridge sighed and sat next to Z on the couch. "She's been taking a lot of night shifts lately. Something's wrong with her, but she hasn't really said anything. I didn't even notice until I came home early on Thanksgiving and she was still here. I still don't know what's bugging her, because I haven't been able to find more than three seconds to pry anything out of her."

Kat nodded at Bridge's rambling, for once understanding what he was getting at. "And where's Sky? I haven't seen him all morning."

Z looked a little guilty but giggled. "I made him go shopping."

"For what?"

"A Christmas present for Syd," Z grinned. "It's less than three weeks to Christmas and he's been putting off getting her something. I told him he had to come back with something or I'm telling his secret crush he has a thing for her."

The feline scientist looked confused. "You mean Sky actually likes someone? That's news to me."

"You and me both," Bridge muttered. "I'm his roommate; I thought I knew everything about him."

"Not everything. And I only know because I happened to walk in on a conversation he was having with his mom about it over the phone," Z smiled. "I've been sworn to secrecy but I'm using the knowledge to my advantage."

Kat's mouth opened as if she were going to say something and her eyes caught Z's. The Yellow Ranger nodded and Kat started laughing. "You've got to be kidding? I'd have never thought those two had a thing for each other!"

"I'm still not entirely sure how she feels about him, but he's practically in love with her," Z announced.

"Well, talk about tough Christmas miracles," Kat joked before turning to leave.

"Who are you two talking about?" Bridge wanted to know.

"Don't worry about it Bridge, if all goes right, Kat's right about the Christmas miracle part."

--

The aforementioned Pink Ranger was currently up on the observation deck looking out over the city. A light snow had fallen in the early hours of the morning, blanketing the busy New Tech in white. It wasn't as cold as it could have been, but then, Sydney was numb to whatever cold there was. She'd been numb for weeks, since she'd realized the holidays were just around the corner. She'd promised herself the year before, after everything was said and done, that she'd tell him what she was feeling. She'd wanted to spend Christmas with him; not just with him, not just secretly in love with him, but in love with him where everyone knew. She had approximately two weeks to achieve her goals, but the fact that she'd turned chicken and was hardly ever with him on duty wasn't helping.

'Why can't I just tell him?' she asked herself, frustrated. 'Am I that afraid of what he'll say?' She'd never been afraid of his honesty before, but then, her heart had never been on the line like it would be if she told him.

It hadn't been an easy year by anyone's standards. There had been minor uprisings in connection with Gruumm being brought down, and each time Syd had found herself paired with Sky on every mission. Then there had been her four month undercover assignment with him. They'd had to pose as husband and wife, and had been trying to crack an alien immigration smuggling ring. One could have thought that along the line of spending nearly every single day with him in the last year that she'd have worked up the courage to tell him; she hadn't.

Shaking her head, she leaned against the railing and looked at the sun that was beginning to set. "Aren't you cold?"

Syd wanted to swear. Turning slightly, her eyes landed on the red sweater, black leather jacket and khaki clad Red Ranger. "Not really," she murmured. "Where have you been all day?"

The Pink Ranger was slightly intrigued by the blush that tinted his skin but left it alone. "Shopping."

"The world's finally coming to an end, isn't it?" she teased. "I never thought I'd see the day when Schuyler Tate would go shopping willingly."

"I'm serious Syd, aren't you cold?" Sky asked. When Sydney didn't respond, he drew off his coat and draped it over her shoulders. "Want to talk about it?"

"No."

"Syd, what's going on with you lately? You've always loved Christmas, but this year it seems like you're just going through the motions. How come?" Sky asked, looking down at her.

His heart broke when he heard her sniffle back a sob. Without thinking, Sky pulled her into his arms, letting her bury her face against his chest. The two of them stood together in the chilly silence for a long time. Finally, Sydney stopped crying and just leaned against him. Sky, unsure how to comfort her, just kept holding her. His head was leaning against hers while his hands rubbed her back, unconsciously caressing her.

"I guess I'm just not really in a Christmas mood," she murmured finally. It felt so nice to be held by him. It never ceased to amaze her that for all the times he tried to make himself appear the loner, he was wonderful at instinctively knowing when she just needed to be held.

"Talk to me," he whispered, pecking a kiss to the top of her head. In moments like this, he wanted to scream at himself for never having told her that he loved her with everything he was. He found it becoming an increasing habit of his to touch her whenever possible, but he also found the friendly gestures weren't satisfying him any more. There were certain situations where all he wanted to do was be spontaneous and lean close and kiss her; only he knew he had no right to.

Sky's breath caught in his throat when Syd looked up at him, her eyes large and still wet from her tears. Before either of them realized it, their lips were meeting in a sweet, tender kiss. One of Sky's arms held her across the back, while the other was cupping her cheek. He all but groaned when she pushed her body closer to his.

Syd felt shock ripple through her as she came to grips with the fact that she and Sky were making out. She moaned when Sky pulled her closer, her breasts pressing into his chest and his apparent hardness rubbing against her stomach.

The chiming of their morphers drew them apart. "Damn," Sky muttered, moving the hand that had been cupping her cheek to grab his morpher from his belt. "Tate here."

"Sky, the Commander wants to see you. And if you see Sydney, bring her with," Kat's voice announced.

"We're on our way," Sky muttered. Syd was already pulling away when Sky's arm tightened around her. Smiling, Sky leaned down and kissed her again. "We're going to talk about this later." Sydney swallowed and nodded, and then they pulled apart and headed inside.

--

"You okay?" Z whispered in Syd's ear as the Commander explained why he'd called them in.

"I'll tell you later," Syd answered back softly.

Anubis shot them a look that had them both quieting. "As I was saying, your efforts in the alien smuggling ring have paid off."

"We got the convictions?" Syd grinned. Four months of undercover work and two months of court appearances and paper work now seemed like they had been worth while.

"Yes. They're being sent to a maximum security prison near Mirinoi," Cruger told them. "The court has asked that I send two of you, just to make sure they arrive safely."

The group of four looked startled. It was just under a week and a half until Christmas; the trip could conceivably take that long, meaning whoever went wouldn't be home for Christmas. "Who's going sir?" Sky asked.

"I'd like you and Z to accompany the envoy, Sky," Anubis announced. He was surprised to see an immediate reaction on Syd's face. "Cadet Drew, are you alright?"

"I don't feel well, Commander," Syd managed, hoping not to give away her feelings. The last thing she needed was Cruger to find out how she really felt about Sky and then to lecture her on it.

"Then go see Dr. Felix. I can't have you ill while half the team is gone."

Sydney saluted and then raced from the room. Sky looked startled while Bridge and Z winced when Sydney's sobs could be heard down the hallway as the door shut behind her. "Alright, what's wrong with Cadet Drew?"

Z stepped forward. "I think she was counting on all of us being here for Christmas, some more than others," Z rolled her eyes and inclined her head in Sky's general direction.

"I see," Anubis answered. He really could, seeing how he had been seeing the change in Syd and Sky's relationship slowly over the last year. He already knew Sky had strong, non platonic feelings for the Pink Ranger, and now he knew Syd felt the same way. While he wasn't sure how it would affect the team, he also understood that you couldn't help who your heart decided it was going to love. His thoughts drifted to his wife, who was even now upstairs making dinner in their quarters. "Cadet Tate, please go check on her. I'll fill Z in on your mission."

"Yes sir," Sky saluted and then strode from the room.

--

Sky found her curled up on one of the medical beds, Kat sitting with her. Their feline advisor was talking in hushed tones, nodding whenever Syd said something to her. When Kat saw him, she murmured something to Sydney before approaching him. "She's not feeling all that great, don't stay long," Kat told him before leaving.

The Red Ranger was at a loss for words. Her eyes and nose were red, she had Peanuts pulled to her chest, and tissue was crumpled in her hand. "Syd, you know Z and I will be home in time for Christmas," Sky told her, reaching out to take her hand.

"You don't know that," she argued. "The trip is four days one way. You don't know what'll happen!"

Sky tried to smile, to reassure her. "So we'll celebrate Christmas when we get home."

"It's not the same!"

"Why is it so important for us to be together on Christmas? It's just a day. Don't you know Christmas should be every day of the year, and can be celebrated on any day other than December 25th if you really believe?"

When Syd started crying again, Sky was again at a loss. He hadn't realized Christmas was so important to her. "That's not the point! I know it can be celebrated any day!" Syd argued through her tears. "I've been trying for weeks to work up the courage to tell you I'm in love with you and I was going to do it on Christmas Eve and now it's all ruined!" she cried, her body wracked by her harsh breathing.

Sky's eyes widened and he stared down at her tear-stained face in awe. Leaning forward, he brushed the tears from her cheeks. "Sydney," he whispered, moving to kneel next to her bed. He was amazed to discover she felt the same way; he'd been in love with her for quite some time, but hadn't had the courage to tell her. "I promise, Syd, I'll be home for Christmas." Leaning forward, Sky kissed her forehead. "I love you Syd, now get some rest."

--

"Are you ready?" Bridge asked Sky. He still had a half of Z's hand even though they'd already said their goodbyes.

"I suppose so," Sky grumbled. His eyes searched the shuttle bay but didn't find the person he was looking for.

"She won't miss saying goodbye, not after yesterday," Bridge assured him. Sky had quietly told them at dinner the previous night about Syd's confession and her reason for not being well.

Sky sighed. "I wish I could be so sure," he mumbled. "She was pretty pissed at me last night." Looking down at his watch, he winced. "It's time to go."

Z nodded and kissed Bridge before moving to the shuttle. Sky gave Bridge a nod and turned to go in, only to be stopped by a voice. "SKY!"

The Red Ranger spun around and smiled, catching the pink blur before it barreled into him. He held her tightly, his spirits lifting; she'd come to see him off.

"Come home soon, okay?" she mumbled, fighting back tears as she looked up into his beloved eyes.

"I love you," he told her, cupping her cheek. "I'll be home for Christmas, I promise."

"I'm holding you to that," she smiled right before he leaned down and kissed her.

Bridge and Z shared a look before Z cleared her throat. "Time to go, Lover Boy."

Sky and Syd pulled apart. Syd had to bite her lip as she moved to snuggle into Bridge's brotherly embrace. Sky took a deep breath, winked at her and moved with Z into the shuttle.

"Don't worry, Syd, he'll find a way to be home by Christmas," Bridge assured her.

"I know."

--

Sydney lay on her bed, numb. Bridge was on Z's bed, having been given a sedative by Kat and Dr. Felix. There would be no Christmas miracles this year, or for a long time to come, if she was honest with herself. Z and Sky were dead, their shuttle having been destroyed after an intense dog fight in space. They had never made it to their destination and they'd never be coming home. Both Bridge and Jack had lost their battle with their emotions; Bridge had been given the sedative and Jack had gone mute before falling into a restless sleep at his and Ally's apartment. Sydney hadn't let it all sink in, until she'd gotten Bridge situated in Z's bed, that her sister and the man she loved were never coming home.

Blinking through a fresh round of tears, Syd wrapped Sky's comforter from his bed, which she'd snatched at some point, around her and headed to the common room.; Grabbing a pillow from one of the couches, she curled up on the floor by the Christmas tree. Her eyes fastened onto the ornament about half way up that Sky had placed on the tree just days before he'd left. It was a beautiful glass bulb that had been hand-painted with the likenesses of each member of their team. Written in careful script were their names and the words _Forever B Squad._

The soft melody of one of Sky's favorite Christmas songs floated around on the air, making Sydney tremble. It was _Where Are You Christmas _by Faith Hill. It was an older pop song, but it still struck a chord with her. "You promised, Sky! You promised!" she cried into the pillow.

--

Christmas morning dawned rainy and gray. It had been five days since they'd lost Sky and Z. Syd didn't want to even roll out of bed, let alone be awake. Sighing, she tried to stretch and found the blankets heavier than normal. Opening her eyes, Syd felt her stomach drop out on her. Staring back at her were Bridge and Z; Bridge was smiling as he held a sleeping Z.

"Oh God!" Syd gasped. Looking over the edge of the bed, she saw Jack sound asleep on the floor. The Pink Ranger tried to get up, so she could jump on Z and smother her in a hug, but felt an arm tighten around her waist as she moved. She swallowed and rolled over, her eyes filling as she took in the sleep blue eyes of the Red Ranger. "Sky?" she squeaked.

He grinned and reached up to touch her face. "When I make a promise, I keep it," he chided gently.

"Oh Sky!" Syd cried out before his lips found hers in an emotion laden kiss.

"Get a room!" Z called, making Syd laugh against Sky's lips.

"Welcome home Z!" Syd called, her voice coming out a mixture of laughter and crying.

"God Almighty! Don't any of you have any decency for people who are sleeping?" Jack groaned, sitting up. Four pillows few at him, smacking him. "HEY!"

--

Cadets chatted with Z about her and Sky's mission. Bridge and Jack were showing the newly arrived Ally the Christmas decorations. And then there was Syd and Sky. The Red and Pink Rangers were on one of the couches. Sky sat cross-legged with Sydney curled in his lap, her head resting against his shoulder. One of her arms was wrapped around his waist while the other was fisted over his heart. Sky had both arms around her, one hand at her waist and the other caressing her hip and thigh.

"So how did you guys survive? They said they found traces of the shuttle everywhere out there," one of the lower level cadets asked.

Sky grinned. "Believe it or not, the original Lost Galaxy and Space Rangers came to help with the Astro Megaships," he informed them. "But because of what had happened, they thought it best to keep the fact that they rescued us a secret until an investigation could be started."

The Red Ranger felt his heart crack when Syd started trembling in his arms. He tightened his grip and kissed her forehead. He knew it would be a while before she got over nearly losing him. While the pair sat, someone turned on the stereo. Sky smiled when he heard one of his favorite Christmas songs, _Where Are You Christmas _by Faith Hill start.

"I love you Sky," Syd murmured against his neck.

"I love you, Sydney. Merry Christmas," he whispered before they kissed softly.


	2. 2: Red Keeps His Promise

Where Are You Christmas  
Chapter 2: Red keeps his promise  
By: Pink-Green-White-4ever  
Last Revised: December 13, 2006

Summary: Post MF, its Christmas time and a certain Red Phoenix and Blue Mermaid miss each other, but hey, Christmas is the time for miracles  
Rating: T  
Ship: Red/Blue

AN: Sorry this is so late, I've had it written for a while now, I just forgot to post.

--

Udonna and Lianbow watched with knowing eyes as Nick sat on the porch swing of his adopted parents' rental home. Snow was falling gently outside, chilling the air, but Nick didn't seem to notice. His iPod was plugged into his ears and his eyes were closed. A light-blue blanket rested in his laps, his hands clenched in it.

"One guess who he's thinking about," Lianbow smiled.

"I need no guess, beloved. I know who his mind is on."

"Do you think maybe we should suggest returning to Briarwood?" Lianbow asked softly.

Udonna sighed. "I already have. He gave me no indication as to what his answer was. It almost feels like he's afraid to return home."

"Maybe he is," Lianbow spoke, his tone coming out as if he might understand his son's dilemma. "He's afraid they've both changed and will not be able to make it work."

Udonna shook her head. "Nonsense. Madison loves him, and he loves her. They've already gotten past the scary part."

"Beloved, I have an urge to be home for Christmas," he told her honestly.

"I do too. Let's tell Nick, and let him decide for himself."

Udonna moved onto the front porch and sat next to her son on the swing. "What's wrong Mom?" Nick asked, taking one side of the headphones out of his ear.

"Your father and I are going to return home. It's your choice to come or stay, but both he and I would like spend Christmas at home."

Nick looked shocked. "Seriously?"

Udonna nodded. "It's your father's first Christmas home, as well as yours. I can see no better place to spend it than in our own home, with our family and closest friends, but we both understand if you want to stay here instead. Going back means facing the questions that are bound to be asked, as well as your own curiosity regarding certain things."

The former Red Ranger looked over toward his father, who was standing at the door. He wanted to spend this first Christmas with them after having been denied that for his entire life, but he wasn't sure he wanted to go back and have the things that mattered most missing from his life. He wasn't sure if he could handle losing her. He had changed, they all had, and he wasn't sure if he and Madison could take the new people they were and still keep what they had from before. However, a shining example of just that was right before his eyes. His parents had been apart for nearly twenty years, and they were as much in love now as they had been when they'd first been married. If nothing else, Nick knew he wanted to try.

"When are we leaving?"

--

Vida looked like she was ready to bite someone's head off when Chip and Xander entered Rootcore. Clare had called them an hour before and told them to come as soon as they could. "What's going on, V?" Xander asked, sitting down next to her.

"Look," Vida muttered, pointing to the Crystal. An image of the snow covered forest appeared, along with the small, hunched figure of Madison. The former Blue Ranger was sitting next to the pond, looking sadder than they'd ever seen her.

"What's wrong?" Chip asked. "Maddy's always at the pond these days."

"That's just it. She hasn't heard from Nick, none of us have, in almost a month. It's almost Christmas," Vida murmured, her heart hurting for her sister. "Why hasn't he called her yet?"

"Who knows?" Xander responded. "His head was pretty messed up after that last battle. Maybe he's still sorting things out."

Before either the former Pink or Yellow Rangers could speak up, someone else interrupted. "Merry Christmas Rangers."

The trio looked up, startled, and saw Udonna, Lianbow and Nick setting their bags down. "You're back!" Chip laughed as the six came together and shared hugs.

"We missed home," Lianbow announced and then frowned. "Where is everyone?"

"Clare went to feed Fireheart," Vida smiled, though her eyes were on the ever quiet Nick. "Daggeron, Jenji, and Itassis went to see to a minor problem in a village about a day's hike from here. They said they'd be back as soon as everything was settled."

"What about Maddy?" Nick finally asked.

"Practicing by the pond, and probably moping," Vida tried not to sneer. She was mad that he could ask that so easily when Madison had spent the better part of the last month wondering whether or not he was okay, or whether or not he was ever really coming back.

"Nick, go on," Udonna nudged her son. The former Red Ranger nodded and headed out. "Vida, don't worry so much, he's missed her as much as she's missed him."

--

Letting out a tired huff, Madison sat back against a tree. Daggeron had given her the assignment to try and manipulate the icy water of the pond. He'd told her practicing with the ice would be a challenge for her, and Maddy had to admit he was right.

Reaching over, Madison grabbed the bright red blanket tucked into her backpack. Sighing, she wrapped the blanket around her and lay back to rest. Her watch alarm was set to go off so when it did she'd head back to Rootcore and then head to work. Little did she know as she slipped into a light slumber that her watch was broke and wouldn't be going off.

--

"Nick, what's wrong?" Vida called out when the young man in red raced in, looking panicked.

"I can't find Maddy!" he told her. "I've been looking for three hours. Your mom, Toby, even Phineas have all said they haven't seen her."

Vida felt terror grip her. Madison's shift at The Rock Porium was set to start an hour before. "Oh no!"

"MOM!" Nick hollered.

Udonna and Lianbow rushed into the room. "What's wrong, Son?" Lianbow asked.

"Maddy's missing!" Vida butted in.

Udonna moved to the crystal just as Xander, Clare, Chip and Leelee entered. "Hey guys!" Leelee greeted, only to see the panic on everyone's faces. "What's wrong?"

"Maddy's missing," Nick uttered.

"She's in the forest, according to the crystal ball. Take the Mystic Racers," Udonna told the four Rangers. "The rest of us will look on foot. Clare, I want you to stay here and ready a warm bath and broth, and a guest room for her."

Clare nodded and hurried out. "Magical Source, Mystic Force!" the four Rangers called out, morphing as they hadn't in over a month.

Udonna and Lianbow changed into their powered up forms and raced out of Rootcore with Leelee while the Rangers took to the skies with the Mystic Racers.

--

Maddy shivered again. The snow had started falling heavier since she woke up and realized her watch had died. She stopped a minute and took a breather, hoping to catch her break and get her bearings. With all the snow, she couldn't see the path back to Rootcore that she'd made in the time she'd been coming to the pond. She also couldn't see the edge of the pond anymore. 'I'm going to die of frostbite if I don't get home soon' she thought with a bit of panic. She could already feel the numbness in her toes and fingers, and her nose. "I need to morph, maybe it'll give me more strength to trudge through the snow." Reaching to her belt, she grabbed her morpher. With energy she didn't know she had, she went through her morphing process. "Magical Source, Mystic Force!"

Once her suit was on, she felt a surge of familiar power and energy and felt her senses sharpen. Feeling marginally better, Madison began to forge a path through the near white-out of snow.

--

"MADDY!" Chip called out as the group of four searched the area around the pond from the air.

"MADISON!" Vida yelled.

"I can't even see ahead of us!" Xander huffed. "How the hell are we supposed to find her if we can't even see her?"

Nick ignored all of them, his eyes on the snow below him as he placed his Racer on autopilot. Xander was right about not being able to see near the pond, let alone what was five feet in front of them. Shaking off the despair, Nick motioned for them to head lower into the forest.

"What are we doing?" Vida asked.

"Landing!" Nick called over his shoulder. "I have an idea!"

The four landed at the edge of the pond and hopped off their Racers. "Nick?" Chip wanted to know.

"Get in a circle!" he called out. The four formed a circle and took each other's hands. If it worked for his father when he'd been Koragg, Nick only hoped this would work for him now. Closing his eyes, he pulled power from the others and then turned his thoughts to their wayward Blue Ranger. 'Madison!' he called out through the bond they shared as Mystic Force Rangers

Vida, Chip and Xander gasped when they felt themselves and Nick start glowing with power, and then heard Nick's voice in their head. 'Nick?' Vida ventured.

'Guys, help!'

'MADDY!'

--

'MADDY!' Madison jolted at the sound of her name echoing in her head in a chorus of familiar voices. She was on the ground, facing the sky. Her morph had given out on her some time before since she was too cold to maintain it. 'I'm hallucinating' she thought. 'I know I'm going to die and all I can think about is my friends.'

In the sky above her, Madison knew it was a trick of the snow, but she could have sworn she saw Xander's Green Minotaur scanning over the trees, Vida's Pink Fairy buzzing from treetop to treetop, Chip's Yellow Garuda and Nick's Red Phoenix flapping about. 'At least my last thoughts are of them, I hope they know how much I loved them. Oh guys! Nick!' she thought just before everything went black.

--

The first sensation Maddy recognized was that she had feeling in every portion of her body. The second was that she was warm, incredibly warm. In fact, she was warmer than she probably should have been unless she had a fever. When her eyes slowly peeked open, she found herself staring at the tanned, smooth skin of someone's arm. Alarm threatened to set in until she felt the familiar, gentle touch of hands stroking her back; her bare back. A sharp stab of shock struck her as she realized all she was wearing was a pair of panties and she was lying in a bed with someone who was only wearing a pair of sweats.

"Welcome back to the land of the living," the chest beneath her ear rumbled with the voice that haunted her dreams.

"Nick?" she squeaked, moving her head ever so slightly. She found herself staring into the eyes of the man she was just realizing she was in love with.

"Hi," he grinned at her, reaching up to brush her loose hair away from her face. "Feeling better?"

"Nick, where are my clothes?" she asked, alarmed. "And what the heck happened?"

"First of all, your clothes are on the chair in the corner," he told her, his anger finally rising. "Second of all, you were out in the snow and we had to find you. You almost died Maddy! What the hell were you thinking?"

Madison gathered the sheet around her as she sat up, Nick sitting up once she was off of him. "I was practicing, at the pond," she started, her eyes closing as she tried to think back. "I thought I'd set my watch, but I guess it stopped. I was only going to rest, but I was so comfortable under your blanket, that I fell asleep. When I woke up, there was a good two or three inches of snow on the ground. I couldn't even see the path back that I usually use, there was so much snow flying around. I gathered up my gear and headed the way I thought home was. I must have gotten turned around; all I know was that I was out there a long time."

Nick nodded, reaching out to run his hands up and down her bare arms. "Keep going."

"I trudged around some more after I morphed, but eventually I lost my morph because I was so cold. I fell, I remember falling," she told him, opening her eyes to stare at him. "I was so cold and so tired I just lay on the ground. I was thinking about you guys, thought I heard you call for me, but I knew I was hallucinating. And then I thought I saw the Titans, but I must have been pretty out of it by then."

It was then that Nick reached out and cupped her cheeks. "Maddy, listen to me," he started, making sure her eyes focused on him. "You weren't hallucinating, we really did call you. I figured since Dad was able to get in my head when he was Koragg, why couldn't I do the same with you, with a little help from the others."

"So I really did hear you calling for me?"

He nodded. "I used our combined magic. And you saw the Titans; we finally got to the point where the Racers weren't helping. We figured if you saw the Titans, cause let's face it, they're hard to miss, we figured you'd be able to help us find you."

Tears pooled in Maddy's eyes, which Nick rubbed away with the pads of his thumbs when they finally coursed down her cheeks. "You came home."

Nick smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I came home. Mom and Dad wanted to spend their first Christmas back together at home, and let's face it, so did I. I needed to prove something to myself while I was gone, Maddy, and I did."

"What's that?" she asked softly.

"That my first instincts were right. Do you remember what I said to you during our final battle, right before Toby and Phineas brought everyone to us?"

Madison's brow furrowed in concentration as she thought back to that most hectic day a month before. 'I finally found my home.' More rebellious tears streaked down her cheeks as she nodded. "Yeah."

"I needed to make sure what I was feeling was real, for both our sakes."

"You never called."

Nick looked down for a moment before looking back up at her. "I know, and I'm sorry."

"Just tell me why," she whispered softly.

"I was scared; nothing more, nothing less. You terrify me, Madison."

Maddy looked confused. "How so?"

"What I feel for you, it terrifies me, because nobody and I mean that truthfully, nobody has ever mattered as much as you do, or ever will."

For the first time since she woke up, Madison heard the radio playing in the background. A soft smile played across her lips when she heard the song. It was the song to one of her favorite Christmas movies of all time. "Maddy?"

"Shh," she whispered, leaning forward and placing a fingertip on his lips. "Just listen."

Nick listened to the song, recognized it, and smiled. "Maddy?"

"Hmm?"

"Merry Christmas," he whispered.

"Nick?"

"Yeah?" he asked, watching her lean toward him.

"I love you. Merry Christmas."

"I love you too," he murmured, their lips locking in a passionate kiss.


	3. 3: A Lonely Red Gets His Christmas Wish

Where Are You Christmas  
Chapter 3: A lonely Red gets his Christmas wish  
By: Pink-Green-White-4ever  
Last Revised: January 5, 2007

Summary: Post Reinforcements from the Future (Wild Force). A certain Red Time Force Ranger gets his one true Christmas wish answered.  
Rating: T  
Ship: Red/Pink

AN: I know this is late, I do apologize. Unfortunately, I haven't had much inspiration to finish….until now.

--

He stood by the large bay window at the front of the cabin, staring out into the world of snow gently falling outside his door. He knew his father was disappointed he hadn't wanted to spend Christmas at home, but he just needed to be by himself this year. Last year had broken his heart, but he'd been too numb to notice. This year, it was even worse. Every where he'd turned, whether at home or in town, had reminded him of her. The mansion was so big, so lonely, because he'd been so use to sleeping in the clock tower with the four of them. The clock tower itself had been eerily silent. Even Eric had commented on how weird it seemed without them around. Seeing her a few months ago, when Time Force and Wild Force had teamed up to take out the Mut-Orgs, had about killed him. While he'd loved getting to spend time with her, despite that they had been facing a life or death situation, it hadn't been long enough, not when he could feel his heart breaking at the remembrance of Alex's summoning of them home after a few days.

She'd cried. For the first time in a long time, she'd cried. That alone would have made him give up his own life to see her happy again, but he knew it wasn't his place, and this wasn't her time. If they'd been different people than who they were, and from the same time, they could have made a go at it. As it was, they were destined to live out their lives, separated by a thousand or so years. Sometimes, fate just sucked ass.

The snow reminded him of her. It reminded him of her innocence, her joy in discovering the wonders this time had held for her. She'd be the first person to argue that she was anything but innocent, but he'd be the first person to say she was. At the heart and soul of who she was, Jennifer Scotts was as innocent as they came. She still believed in absolute justice, in right over coming wrong, and those who did wrong paying for their crimes. In his world, he knew better. Most of the time, people who deserved to rot for their crimes got off free of charge, and there were always shades of gray. Pushing away from the window, he moved back toward the kitchen to make something to eat. It was Christmas Eve, and all he wanted to do was eat and then sink into oblivion for the next twenty four hours.

--

She pulled her leather coat tighter around her and stared up at the large cabin that was surrounded in snow. When she'd gotten her Christmas present from Katie, Trip, Lucas and Alex, she'd almost thought it was too good to be true. She hadn't seen him in six months, not since they'd helped Wild Force take out the Mut-Orgs. Now she was less than twenty feet from his front door and she was shaking like a leaf, not from the cold of the snow, but from the nervousness. Those who knew her would laugh if they were told she was nervous. After all, Jennifer Scotts didn't get nervous. No, she was the picture perfect image of calm, cool and collected. She'd even say that about herself, but being where she was, less than twenty feet from the one thing she craved most in life, made her feel like an anxious little girl all over again.

She'd almost talked herself into thinking he'd found someone else by now, but she knew that was a lie. Not only had his father told her he was up here for the week, alone, but so had Eric when she'd stopped in to see him as well. Added to that, she'd broken a few rules and looked in on him with some help from Trip. What she found had startled, if immensely pleased her.

Shaking her head, she grabbed her bags and trudged up the walk from the driveway, praying he wasn't in the depths of the cabin but somewhere close where he'd hear the doorbell. Once she was at the door, she set her bags down and reached forward, one gloved finger pressing the door bell once, then twice, before she stepped back to wait.

--

Wes stood at the kitchen counter, building himself the mother of all submarine sandwiches. A wide grin split his features as he thought of the disapproving look he'd get from Phillips if the old butler saw what he was about to gorge himself on. He was about to take a bite when the radio disc jockey announced the next song selection. "Guys, grab your girls and snuggle up for a Christmas Eve snuggle or even a romantic slow dance. And for those of you who are without your loved ones, my heart goes out to you. Here's Faith Hill's _Where Are You Christmas._"

The former Red Ranger scowled at the radio and sat his sandwich back down on the plate. "Talk about losing your appetite," he grumbled before going over to the refrigerator and yanking it open. Reaching in, he grabbed a bottle of beer out and slammed the door shut with his foot as he turned back toward the counter. He was about to open said beer when the doorbell suddenly started going off. "Oh for the love of God!" he all but hollered, setting the bottle back down before heading toward the front door.

It took him less than a minute to stalk from the kitchen to the front door, which he yanked open without even looking to see who was there. "LISTEN! IT'S CHRISTMAS EVE! IT'S SNOWING! I DON'T WANT TO BUY WHATEVER YOU'RE…"

"You seriously think anyone in their right mind would be out here in this cold trying to sell you something, on Christmas Eve, of all nights?" she asked, her arms crossed over her chest and one eyebrow raised in question.

"Okay, obviously, I'm seeing things," he muttered, reaching up to rub his eyes with is right hand. When he opened his eyes again, she was still standing there, only now she was shivering.

"Oh brother!" Jen hissed. "Wes, it's colder than hell out here. Are you going to invite me in or let me turn into a popsicle?"

He didn't answer her, his hands just darted out and grabbed the front of her jacket, hauling her inside and against his body seconds before his lips slammed down on hers, causing her own hands to dart out to grab the material of his sweater at his waist so she could hold on. After the first thirty seconds, Jen tried to clamp down on the moan that was rising up out of her throat, but the wicked things Wes' lips were doing to hers before he moved to her throat proved to be too much, and she let the moan rip out of her suddenly clogged throat.

After the fog cleared out of his mind, he eased his kisses down to something less frantic and nuzzled her neck gently while his arms held her close to him. "God, please tell me I'm not dreaming and you're really here, because if this is a dream, I don't ever want to wake up from it."

"First of all, my name is not God," she teased, burying her face against his shoulder, her mouth just tantalizing inches from his neck. "Second, you're not dreaming; I'm really here."

"Oh Jen!" he uttered softly, holding her even tighter.

"Katie, Lucas, Trip and Alex send along their Christmas greetings to you," she giggled as he pulled back and reached up to frame her face with his hands. "Wes, as glad as I am to see you, the front door is still open and I'm still freezing."

Laughing, he leaned forward and kissed her forehead. "Go on into the kitchen, there's food and something to drink in there. I'll haul in your bags."

Doing as she was told, Jen wandered back through the hallway into the kitchen. She carefully tugged off her jacket and draped it over one of the dinning room chairs. She was just starting to poke around when Wes walked into the room and leaned against the doorframe. Jen turned around to face him, smiles lighting both their faces. "Your dad and Eric said you were up here," she started, answering one of his unspoken questions. "Your dad seemed pretty adamant after seeing me, that I come up and see you."

Wes just stared at her, soaking up her very presence. "I've missed you."

Jen looked up at him, her eyes locking onto his even as the tears she'd been holding back welled in them. "I've missed you too."

"What are you doing here? I thought you weren't allowed to come back after the last mission?"

At that, Jen smiled, a mental image of Trip, Katie, Lucas and Alex waving goodbye to her from the platform of Time Force Headquarters flashing across her eyes. "Let's just say, between our work as Time Force Rangers, and some strings the others, especially Alex, pulled, I'm…I'm your Christmas present, of sorts."

Wes eyed her carefully. "How long are you here for, Jen?"

She smiled then, wider and brighter than he'd ever seen her. "Well, that depends on you."

"What do you mean?"

Biting her lip, Jen moved toward him, until they were merely inches apart. "Does until the day I die sound good to you?"

Wes' lip trembled and his eyes suspiciously filled as he sucked in a breath and reached out to touch his fingertips to her face. "Are you serious?"

"I'm here to stay, if you'll have me," she whispered.

Jen gasped when he yanked her close to him, his body trembling against hers as he held on tight. "Jennifer…"

"I love you, Wesley," she murmured into his ear. "I love you so much, and I'm so sorry we had to be apart all this time."

"I love you, only you," he responded fiercely, leaning back only far enough so that their lips could meet again. "I want you to stay with me, I really do, but are you sure this is what you want?" he asked when he pulled back again.

"I wouldn't be here if I wasn't sure," she told him softly. "I've already talked it over with my family, and they understand. I have the authority to travel back and forth, if I'm needed by Time Force, or if we need the others; my reward for being a good little Ranger, twice over."

Wes grinned at her. "Well then," he laughed. "Are you hungry? I know it's a couple hours drive from Silver Hills to here."

Jen laughed. "I thought you'd never ask. I'm starving!"

--

Music played softly, providing a comfortable background for the quietness of their bedroom. Jen's soft breathing tickled the side of his neck while her body warmed his, their limbs gently intertwined. Her hand was fisted over his heart and her head was resting on his shoulder.

After dinner, they'd snuggled on the couch in front of the fire with hot chocolate, while she'd brought him up to speed on the others and what they'd been up to since he'd last seen them. He'd told her about his and Eric's adventure with the other Red Rangers to take out the Machine Empire and Serpentara. He smiled as he thought of the look she gave him when she heard about that. If looks could kill….well, he wouldn't have been dead, but certain parts of his anatomy would have been seriously injured.

They'd spent the majority of the evening just laying on the couch together, enjoying the silence, until the silence had evolved into sweet kisses and hesitant touches, which had only grown in intensity the more they laid together. Finally, when they couldn't take it anymore, they'd gone beyond the simple innocence of what they'd been doing and had made love to one another on the rug beside the fire. For hours, they had reveled in simply being together and had slept for minutes at a time, renewing their strength before they sought each other out again.

After their last time, just before midnight, Jen had fallen into a deep sleep, the effects of time travel, long distance ground travel, and making love having finally caught up to her. Wes had held her for an unknown time after that, just letting her sleep, before the combination of the fire dying and his body rebelling against sleeping on the floor got to him. He'd carried her into their room after that, tucking her in, while he'd gone about securing the cabin before coming back to bed. When he'd slipped in beside her, she'd curled against him instinctively, his name a whispery sigh on her lips.

He'd only woken an hour ago, but he'd spent it staring down into her calmly composed face. When he heard the beginning strains of _Where Are You Christmas_, he smiled. He would forever remember it as the song that had been playing when Jen had finally come back to him. "I've always loved this song," she whispered softly.

Startled that she was awake, he brought a hand up to smooth her hair out of her face. "Oh really?"

"Who is this singing it? In my time, it's practically a Christmas classic; so many people have done it."

Wes chuckled. "This would be the original, by a beautiful country singer with a great big voice named Faith Hill."

Jen's eyes opened, shining brightly as she stared into his, the moonlight spilling through the drapes across from their bed. "I love you, Wes."

"I love you too, Jennifer," he murmured, before leaning down to kiss her.


	4. 4: A Pink Wishes For Her Red

Where Are You Christmas  
Chapter 4: A Pink wishes for her Red  
By: Pink-Green-White-4ever  
Last Revised: January 6, 2007

Summary: This is post Time For Lightspeed (Time Force) by a year or two. A certain blonde Pink Ranger is stuck in the hospital wishing for her Red Ranger.  
Rating: T  
Ship: Red/Pink  
AN: I shortened the story by one chapter, so there's only one more after this one. Enjoy!

--

"Ice chip?"

"FOR THE LAST TIME, NO!" the mother-to-be screamed at her companions. The young man in silver and black made a face and backed away from the bed, setting down the cup of ice on the bedside table.

"Girl, calm down," the soothing voice of the woman in blue jeans and a yellow sweatshirt announced, before gently hands smoothed back the pregnant woman's blonde locks.

"I can't and won't calm down, Kels. I want him here so bad!" she cried softly.

Kelsey leaned over and kissed the blonde's forehead. "Don't worry. You're dad is doing the best he can to find him."

"This isn't how it was supposed to happen. The baby's early, and he's supposed to be here."

"Dana," Kelsey smiled down at her. "You're right, the baby is early, and yes, we all know you want Carter here, but as soon as your dad can get him, he'll be here. The fire department is way busy tonight because of the storm."

Kelsey's words did not appease the cranky former Pink Ranger who felt another contraction getting ready to start. Dana gave a little cry when the contraction came, and worked to pant through it with Kelsey, before collapsing on the bed again when it was done. "Only a couple of more hours, and it'll be Christmas," Chad murmured from where he stood with Joel, Ryan and Angela. "You think she'll last that long?"

"I think the better question is, are we going to be able to get Carter here before she has the baby," Angela responded. "She's so tired already, but the doctor said the labor could take a few more hours. I don't think she's going to be ready before Christmas."

"I hope Dad found Carter," Ryan murmured, all four of them turning to stare at Dana.

--

For the first time in his life, Carter Grayson absolutely detested snow. He'd loved it as a child, but now he was seriously reconsidering his affection for the fluffy white stuff. So far, all it had done was cause severe havoc on the citizens of Mariner Bay. "Captain Grayson!" one of the younger firefighters called out, rushing toward Carter, skidding across the snow to the newly arrived rig.

"What is it Mark?" Carter asked, jumping down from the front seat even as muscles screamed in protest. They'd had to dig out several driveways to get medical supplies to the retirement and nursing home down the street, as well as several children who had been stranded at home without a way to get out of the snow.

"Captain, your father-in-law has been calling here for the last couple of hours."

Carter's eyebrow shot up at that. "Is everything okay?"

"Dana's gone into labor. She's at Mariner Bay General."

The former Red Ranger's heart shot up into his throat. He rushed inside as fast as he could, tossing his gear onto one of the benches before grabbing his coat and wallet and the keys to the four wheel drive that he was issued as Captain of the station. "Mark! Tell the others I'm heading to the hospital!"

--

"You know, this reminds me of another Christmas we spent here in the hospital," Bill Mitchell grinned as he sat next to Dana's bed, holding her hand.

"Oh?" Dana asked, her eyebrows drawing together.

Joel laughed from the other side of the room. "Why do I think there's a story attached to that?"

Captain Mitchell looked up and laughed. "Because there is. God, Dana was just a baby, if I remember correctly, which would have put Ryan at about two or so." The beginning of the story suddenly drew in each of the room's occupants. Ryan and Kelsey sat on the edge of the bed with Dana, while Chad stood behind Kelsey, his hands on her shoulders. Joel and Angela sat in chairs at the foot of the bed, and all of them turned their eyes toward Dana and Ryan's father.

"What happened, Dad?" Ryan queried.

"Well, my sister had invited us all over for Christmas Eve dinner," Captain Mitchell began.

--

"_Charlotte, don't you think you should be sitting down?" Marie Mitchell asked her sister-in-law. The very pregnant Charlotte stood in front of the stove, carefully stirring the gravy for their dinner._

"_Marie, I'm fine," she grinned. "I'm only eight months pregnant. You of all people should know I'm okay right now. Besides, I'm sick of sitting down while everyone else does something. Why don't you go play with the kids, I think I hear Dana crying?"_

_Maternal instincts having kicked in early, Charlotte was right. Marie wandered into the living room where her daughter was fussing as her father and brother held onto her. Marie stopped to look at them, and felt her heart swell. 'Mine' she thought. 'All mine.'_

"_Mommy look!" Ryan called out, grinning at his mother. "Daddy's letting me feed Day!" he laughed._

"_Shhhh, Ryan, I see," she murmured, coming over to sit on the arm of the chair her family sat in. Ryan was in Bill's lap, while her husband cradled both him and baby Dana. The baby was staring up at her brother with big, blue eyes as he held her bottle for her. "Such a big boy, helping to take care of your sister."_

"_I'm always going to protect her, Mommy, I promise!" Ryan declared, making Marie nod._

"_I know you will," she told him, blinking back tears._

"_MARIE! BILL!" Joseph, Charlotte's husband and Bill's brother-in-law called from the kitchen._

"_I'll go see, stay here," Marie told Bill, before rushing to the kitchen. She found Joseph supporting his very pregnant wife, who was standing in a puddle of clear liquid. "What the…?"_

_Charlotte looked up with a guilty grin. "My water broke."_

_Marie just shook her head while Joseph muttered something about of all the times for it to happen. "No use cursing the timing, Joe, we've got to get her to the hospital."_

"_That's just it, have you taken a look outside?" Joe fired back. Marie shook her head and headed for the back door. One look through the window showed near blizzard conditions outside._

"_Wonderful. Okay, I'll go get her bag, you get her coat on, and let Bill know what's going on. We'll get her to the hospital in one condition."_

--

"Did you, Daddy?" Dana asked, yawning.

"Well, the trip was pretty eventful, but yes, we got her here safely. Your uncle, however, got us stuck in a snow bank," Bill laughed.

"How?" Ryan grinned. He couldn't remember the event in question, but it sounded like something that would happen with their wacky family. His eyes drifted over to Dana, and felt a pang in his heart. He'd promised their mother, once upon a time, that he'd always protect her, and he'd broken that promise – in fact, he'd done quite a bit to hurt her in more recent years. He had to wonder if their mother was proud of how he was living his life now, and fulfilling his pledge in regards to Dana.

The tired mother-to-be saw the shift in attitude in his eyes and squeezed his hand, managing a grin for him, which he returned, along with squeezing her hand back. "Well, you see, there was no way your aunt was going to be able to ride in your uncle's truck, and her car was snowed in the garage. As luck would have it, we had enough room in our car for you and Dana to be in your car seats, and your aunt in the front seat, while one of us drove. Since your mother was the most level headed, she drove our car, and your uncle and I went in the truck."

--

"_I can't believe this!" Joseph hollered, slamming his hands on the steering wheel. "I'm stuck in a flipping snow bank while my wife is in labor with our first child and on the way to the hospital!"_

"_Just calm down, I'm sure the tow truck will be here soon." No sooner had the words left Bill's mouth did the tow truck and a cop car pull up in front of them._

"_Having a little trouble?" the officer asked._

"_Yes sir," Bill smiled for him. "My sister is on her way to the hospital with my wife, and my brother-in-law here is flipping out because my sister is in labor with their first child. They were about five minutes a head of us."_

_The officer nodded. "Hop in; I'll give you a lift. Ike'll take your vehicle down to the garage and I'll give you the info at the hospital where you can get your truck in a day or so."_

"_Thank you!" Joseph called out as the three hurried to the police cruiser before speeding off for Mariner Bay General._

--

"Did you get there in time?" Chad asked, even as Kelsey helped Dana through another contraction.

"At first, I didn't think so. It took us twice as long as we expected to get to the hospital, then when we got here, it was utter chaos. I guess the storm had knocked out power all over town, and in doing so, residents of the retirement and nursing homes had to be brought in so they didn't suffer without their medicines and the power they needed for oxygen and what not."

"So what happened?" Joel asked.

"Well…"

--

"_JOSEPH!" Charlotte screamed at the top of her lungs. Marie did everything she could to calm her sister-in-law down while still trying to keep an eye on Ryan and Dana, who were in the corner of the room. Ryan sat on the floor next to Dana's baby carrier, his sister holding one of his fingers while he tried to keep her from crying every time their yelled. Marie was amazed that, for the most part, Ryan was able to keep Dana calm._

"_Breath through it Charlotte," Marie ordered._

"_DAMN HIM! I'M GOING THROUGH HELL AND WHERE IS HE? PROBABLY GETTING DRUNK!"_

_Marie wanted to laugh but choked it down. "Now Honey, Bill was with him, you know he's not out getting drunk. They probably just had some car trouble."_

"_I DON'T CARE! I WANT MY HUSBAND!"_

_Before Marie could speak, there was a shuffling outside the door and then the nurse led in Joseph and Bill. "Honey!" Joseph called out, rushing to her side._

"_THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!"_

_Rolling her eyes, Marie moved to her husband, who was sitting with their children. "What took so long?" she asked softly._

"_Hit a snow bank. Had to wait for a police cruiser," he responded, lifting Ryan onto his lap. His son was starting to slowly fall asleep. "How much longer do you think she'll be?"_

"_Not long. Her labor's moving pretty rapidly," Marie murmured as two nurses and a doctor came in and began prepping Charlotte to start pushing. "Why don't you take them out into the hallway?"_

_Bill nodded, kissed his wife, and then hefted both his children into his arms before leaving, all the way hearing his sister scream her anger. "YOU ARE NEVER TOUCHING ME AGAIN!"_

--

"So that's how Noel was born?" Dana laughed. "God, no wonder she likes Christmas so much!"

Bill was about to say something when Dana let out a loud gasp. "Dana?" he frantically asked.

"I think it's time, Daddy!" she cried, clenching her teeth while trying to blow through the contraction.

"I'll go get the doctor," Joel announced, rushing out of the room.

"Dana, do you want all of us in here?" Angela asked.

"YES!" Dana cried out, even as Kelsey moved to support her back. "God! I WANT CARTER!" Kelsey shared a look with Bill while Ryan and Chad moved away from Dana to give her some room.

Joel came rushing back into the room, the doctor hot on his tail, and announced, "Hey! Look who I found!"

All eyes hit the door when a panicked looking Carter flew in. "CARTER!"

The former Red Ranger flew across the room at a speed that could have rivaled his Ranger powers and took the seat behind Dana that Kelsey quickly vacated. "Hey," he whispered, wrapping his arms around her and kissing her cheek. "You know I wouldn't miss this for the world."

"He's early!" she cried as the doctors got her all ready to start pushing.

"Impatient," Carter grinned. "To celebrate his first Christmas."

Dana heaved a breath and leaned against him. "I'm so tired."

"I know, Dana, I know," Carter whispered, brushing sweaty hair from her forehead. "A little more, Sweetheart, and we'll have our Christmas miracle," he told her, grinning down into her tired blue eyes.

An hour later, a loud wailing split the air, announcing the arrival of five pound, four ounce Jonathan Noel Grayson. "He's gorgeous, Dana," Kelsey grinned as they all stared down at the newborn.

"And he's got lungs like his mother," Bill teased.

"Merry Christmas, Jonathan," Dana whispered to her son, holding him close while their family and friends looked on. Looking up, Dana's eyes met Carter's before the two leaned forward and shared a kiss, their son reaching for them already from his perch in his mother's arms. The room soon dropped into a peaceful silence, all except for the soft melody coming from the radio as Faith Hill's lovely voice lifted in _Where Are You Christmas_.


	5. 5: Red’s Dreaming Of A Yellow

Where Are You Christmas

Chapter 5: Red's Dreaming Of A Yellow

By: Pink-Green-White-4ever

Last Revised: December 9, 2007

Summary: It's been a while since he's seen her, but this Red wishes he'd told his Yellow how he felt, and now he's missing her like crazy.

Rating: T

Ship: Red/Yellow

AN: -- grins -- I was only going to do one more chapter, but a couple of friends (Enigmaforum and angel17712) talked me into doing a few more this year. Enjoy!

AN2: This one is set after Overdrive's _Once A Ranger._

--

It was his favorite time of the year – Christmas time. This time of the year meant lots of twinkling lights, hot chocolate, marathons of the best and all time classic Christmas movies. It meant his mom and dad actually got together peacefully for one night of the year to celebrate with him, his brother, and his younger sister. It usually meant he was happier than all get out. This year was vastly different. He wasn't happy, hadn't been for a while now. This year, more than the last few, reminded him that once again he was going to spend Christmas all alone again, at least in the romantic sense.

With a sigh, he shoved his hands into the pockets of his coat and continued to stroll down the sidewalk, window shopping for friends he wouldn't be seeing this year. Ethan would love the new video game system sitting in the display of the electronics store, but if he knew his blue loving friend as well as he thought he did, said friend already had the system and was no doubt spending Christmas break playing it. The art shop's display of paint supplies and art work by local artists reminded him of Trent, who was even now in New York studying to become the next Da Vinci or Picasso. When he walked by the jewelry story and saw the bracelet in the window that contained five gems – red, blue, yellow, black and white – his throat clogged for a second, images of Dr. Oliver filtering through his mind. Turning away, he headed across the cross walk and found himself standing in front of the local music store, staring at the brand new acoustic guitar displayed. The guitar, more than anything, hurt like hell to look at. It was HER favorite instrument.

Shaking his head, he slowly moved away from the store display, his heart burning in his chest. He didn't want to think about HER, because thinking about her brought back bittersweet memories he didn't need depressing him during his favorite time of year. It was his own fault that memories of her hurt and he knew it. He'd been so infatuated with Krista their senior year that he hadn't realized until their one year reunion how much he missed HER. If he closed his eyes and stood still, he could readily feel her in his arms, hugging him tightly. He remembered the way she smelt, the way she sounded, the feel of her arms around him, her cheek against his. He remembered it all, and knew that one of these days those memories were going to drive him mad.

His reasoning for not having told her in the time since he'd realized how he felt about her was simple; she was in New York and she was happy exploring her deepening feelings for Trent. Besides, that was another thing he'd never fully gotten over. After everything Trent had put them through, she had been so gung ho about helping the former evil Ranger, had been his biggest supporter. He forgave his friend, because it was the adult thing to do; Trent hadn't been fully in control of his actions, he understood that, but the part of him that loved her couldn't help but feel betrayed that she'd forgiven without a thought, especially when she'd been the one hurt worst in the entire situation.

Turning his head sharply, he felt his breath catch. He could have sworn that he'd seen someone who shouldn't have been there. Blinking, he brought his hand up and pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. Dr. Oliver had told him that she'd come home over the summer to help out the Overdrive Rangers, but he hadn't gotten a chance to see her with everything that had been happening. It was just his imagination playing tricks on him, since he was taking a stroll down memory lane. With a shake of his head, he headed back down the street, his mind losing itself in his memories once more.

--

He almost laughed when he pulled through the gates to Reefside High. He hadn't been back since their reunion, but he wasn't surprised his trip down memory lane had brought him to where it had all began for them. Sitting in his car, he let the engine start cooling while his dark brown eyes took in the scene before him. Not much had changed in the last few years, the school still looked the same, but he knew changes had occurred. It was sort of like him; physically he still looked very much the person he'd been, but inside, he was not the same, time and experience had changed him. Quietly, he stepped from the vehicle and moved toward the buildings, his mind overlapping with images of his time in the hollowed halls.

He found his, Ethan and Trent's lockers and HERS not far from them. When he walked past the office he shuddered only a little bit, and he smiled when he stopped just outside of first period science, where Tommy's name plaque was still attached to the wall next to the door. God knew if it hadn't been for Dr. Oliver, the three of them would have never become who they were, they'd have never given each other a chance, and they'd have never had the opportunity to find in themselves what it meant to be apart of something larger than themselves. While the world saw five Dino Rangers, he knew that at the heart of it all, it would always be the three of them who had set the stage for what had gone on with their team. They had been the solid, unified front against evil, even after Dr. Oliver and Trent had joined. It had been the three of them for so long that last year, just the three of them that that's how he'd always see them; the hacker, the jock, and the musician – his brother in everything but blood, him, and the one who owned his heart.

With a sigh, he headed outside, toward the soccer fields. When he entered the courtyard, his heart all but stopped. The picnic table was still set up not far from the fountain, between the school buildings and the fields. That was where she'd been sitting that morning so long ago, playing her guitar, when Randall had ordered her to the office, never knowing what lay before them. If he closed his eyes, he could still see her sitting there, her hair down, wearing a black and yellow long sleeve shirt and blue jeans, her guitar on her lap and tons of people sitting around her, enjoying the music.

Smiling at the memory, he headed for the soccer fields, just to take a look around and see what improvements had been made. He'd only been there for a few minutes when he turned to look back toward the school and saw a figure sitting on the picnic table, guitar in hand. His jaw dropped open when he heard the familiar chords to 'Freak You Out' coming from the person. The song was just about over when he finally got over his shock and started heading for the person. "Kira?" he called out, but got no response. "Kira!"

The figure finished the song and soon was moving back toward the school, faster than he could catch up with her. When he got into the building, he caught a glimpse of her moving around a corner. Racing down the hall, he hoped to catch up with her only to find no one there. "I'm seeing things that aren't there," he muttered as he made his way out of the school and back to his car. When he saw the yellow and red, fire and ice rose attached to his windshield wipers, he realized he hadn't been seeing things and that someone had been there. "Okay, I need to get inside, warm up, and forget this weird day is even happening."

--

"You look like crap," Hayley bluntly told him when he plopped down at the bar in the cyber café. "Where the heck have you been and what have you been doing?"

He laid his head on his arms and stared at her. "I took a long, depressing trip down memory lane and now I'm even more depressed than when I started," he huffed, closing his eyes.

Hayley's expression softened and she reached out to him. "Conner, what is it?"

"I miss them," he pouted, his eyes still closed. "I miss having the two people who saw past all the stupid comments and air head moves, I miss having my best friend and …."

The red haired owner of the café nodded, even though he couldn't see her. "Understandable. Why don't you go see what I just had brought in for Christmas," she smiled, watching his eyes open and his head turn toward the corner of the room.

"A piano?" he asked, looking at her like she'd gone crazy. "Hayley, honestly…"

"I'm thinking about opening this place up at night, maybe as a good spot for adults to hang out during the week. And if I remember correctly, someone who used to wear a lot of red knows how to play one of those. Think the person could maybe try it out for me?"

Embarrassed but not surprised that she knew, Conner shrugged and then moved over to the slightly beat up black piano. After taking off his coat, he sat down and looked at the keys and tried to remember all his lessons. Even as he reached out for the keys, knowing he could play it in his sleep, he heard the song blaring from the radio, the words seemingly touching a place deep within that he'd hidden for so long. Without a thought, he reached out, his fingers dancing along the white ivory keys. His ears had latched onto the melody of the song, and he began playing it by ear.

His head snapped up when a hand reached over his shoulder and dropped some sheet music on the piano. "You know, you might want to try that with this, it might help," a familiar voice quipped.

Turning his head, Conner smiled at his best friend. "How did you…?"

"I've been here for ten minutes, listening to you. You'd be surprised how fast one with mad computer skills, such as myself, can find sheet music online," Ethan grinned at him.

"Thanks Eth, I appreciate it."

"Why didn't you ever tell me you could play?" Ethan asked, pulling up a chair to sit next to Conner.

The former Red Ranger shrugged his shoulders and adjusted the sheets before him. "My mom made me learn, but since I was so into soccer, it always took a backseat to that. Plus, I didn't want to be known as a music geek," Conner grinned at his friend.

"So, dude, play it," Ethan gestured, sitting back in his chair while Conner took a look at the music. The former Blue Ranger looked utterly surprised as Conner easily followed the notes of music, never once messing up despite having never played the song before. "Dang, you're as good as Kira."

The mention of their former Yellow teammate caused Conner to stop playing. Ethan stared at his friend, curious as to the reaction he was getting from the simple mention of the Yellow Ptera's name. "Want to talk about it?" Ethan asked.

Conner shook his head, cleared his throat and folded his hands in his lap. "I miss her."

Ethan nodded. "I can tell. I'm gonna go out on a wild hunch here, and say you miss her more than you missed even me."

The former Red Ranger nodded. "You remember the night of graduation?"

Grinning, Ethan tilted his head. "Who could forget? Why?"

"Do you remember the conversation you and I had on the bus?"

Understanding dawned in Ethan's expression. The night of graduation, he and Conner had been sitting across from Trent and Kira on the bus coming back from their all night party outing. The pair had actually had a serious discussion about why Conner had never told Kira he liked her more than as a friend. "Yeah, I distinctly remember the conversation, and your lame ass excuse about being in love with Krista at the time."

Conner shot a glare at his friend. "Yeah, how'd I know you'd see through that?"

Ethan just shrugged. "Conner, you were infatuated with her, not in love with her, or maybe, you weren't in love with her the way you were in love with Kira."

"Don't you mean, still am in love with Kira?" Conner muttered.

"Ahhhh, that's what this is about huh? Have you talked to her?"

"No. I didn't even hear from her when she came home to help Overdrive. Dr. O mentioned it in passing while it was happening, but I just couldn't get away and by the time I could, shit was hitting the fan."

Turning his attention back to the piano, Conner wondered what Ethan was thinking. He didn't get the change to ask when Hayley suddenly appeared next to them. "Conner, I hate to ask, but could you play that again for me?" she grinned.

"Sure Hayley, no problem," he whispered, taking a deep breath and releasing it before he set out to play the song again.

When he got to the second verse, he nearly jumped out of his skin when two small, powerful hands gripped his shoulders and a hauntingly familiar voice began to sing in time with the piano. _"Where are you Christmas? Do you remember the one you used to know? I'm not the same one, see what the time's done. Is that why you have let me go?"_

Ethan was grinning from ear to ear when Conner stopped playing, his back stiffening in shock. "How come you never told me you could play that well?" the feminine voice asked as the owner leaned over Conner's shoulder, her face close to his as her arms wrapped around him.

"Kira?" Conner croaked out, turning so that their faces were inches apart. "How…"

She grinned at him. "That doesn't answer my question, but I'll let it slide, this time. Surprised?"

Conner mutely nodded, then narrowed his gaze at her. "It was you earlier!" he accused. "I saw you downtown while I was window shopping and at school today!"

"Oh?" she teased.

"I wasn't sure, with the leather jack and jeans and all, but….." Conner started before Kira's soft laughter stopped him.

"Guilty as charged, though I didn't realize I was following you. By the time I realized what was going on today, you looked like you needed time to yourself," she responded, her voice barely above a whisper.

Ethan cleared his throat, reminding them he was still there. "So, Kira, what are you doing home?"

Conner slid across the piano bench, leaving room for the petite girl to sit between him and Ethan. "I've been back for a while now, since the Overdrive fiasco," she supplied. "I've been busy though. Dr. Oliver's friend, Tanya Sloan-Park, got me an audition with one of the major record labels in Los Angeles."

"She's like a big star now, right?" Conner asked.

"Yep. So I've been in the studio religiously recording my stuff. My album's due out just after New Years," she proudly grinned.

"Sweet!" Ethan laughed.

"Congratulations," Conner spoke softly, reaching out to squeeze her hand. "I'll bet Trent's happy for you."

Ethan glared at Conner, but the look was lost on the former Red Ranger, since he was staring at Kira's face. "He sounded happy when I called him, but I think he's a little too upset with me right now to be completely happy about it."

"Why?" Conner asked, confused.

Kira bit her lip. "Because, I had to make some hard decisions after I came back to help out Overdrive," she started, swallowing. "Trent didn't want me to come back and help them, but it got compounded when Adam introduced me to Tanya, who loved my demo."

"Kira, what happened?" Ethan asked.

"When I decided to stay in L.A. to work on my demo and record my album, I had to choose between my dream and him," she whispered.

"And your dream won out," Conner concluded, realizing where her story was going. "How bad was the break up?"

The former Yellow Ranger sighed. "Bad enough that he won't return any of my phone calls and only talks to me when he forgets to check his caller ID."

Conner's facial expression went stony while Ethan could only shake his head. "He'll get over it, eventually," Ethan tried to console her, though he knew that was probably not the case. Trent seemed to be as in love with Kira as Conner was.

Kira shook her head, squeezing Conner's hand between her own. "Things hadn't been really good for a while with us," she started. "Both of us were too busy with school and work and our other activities to make time for each other. For a while there, it felt like we hardly knew each other anymore, and then I realized something that had been staring me in the face for a while now."

"What?" Ethan asked.

"That I didn't love him the way I thought I did," she honestly told them, her eyes coming up to meet Ethan's. "I realized I was in love with someone else, someone just as much, if not more, important to me than him."

Ethan continued to stare at them, watching Conner's heartbreak explode onto his face while Kira nervously told them things she'd never dared before. "Oh?" Conner choked out.

Kira shot Ethan a look that had him smiling. "Um, you know what, I just forgot, Hayley had something she needed done to the network, I'll be back in ten minutes," the former Blue Ranger made his excuse hastily before hurrying toward where Hayley was at the counter.

With Ethan gone, Kira turned to look at Conner. The move was so quick, that the former Red Ranger didn't have time to hide his expression. "Con?" she softly said his name, hope soaring in her voice and in her eyes. "You okay?"

"Y-yeah….fine," he uttered, swallowing the lump in his throat. "So, do we get to meet the mystery man?" he tried to joke. "I mean, because obviously, Ethan and I get to approve first."

Kira tried not to laugh. "You didn't approve of Trent."

Conner scowled at her. "I didn't have much of a choice at the time," he muttered crossly.

Nodding, Kira admitted he had a point. "Well, you see, you already know this guy, and despite the fact that you know that I can take care of myself, and I know you know that, I'm sure you'd approve."

"Who is it? It's not Eth-Ethan, is it? I mean, it wouldn't upset me if it was…"

Kira shook her head. "No, it's not Ethan."

"Devin?"

A pained look crossed Kira's face. "Cassidy would attempt to kick my ass if it was. No, it's not Devin."

Conner wracked his brain for who it could be, his next guess causing his mouth to go dry. "It's not….Dr. O….is it?" Kira choked on a laugh and bent over, her shoulders shaking. "I mean, I guess, I could see how a girl could fall for the tall, dark, older man…even if he is a high school science teacher."

"Oh God! Conner!" she laughed, sitting up and leaning against him. "No! It's not Dr. O! That'd be incest on the worst levels!"

"Well, who is it then?" his voice came across as suddenly annoyed.

Kira couldn't find the strength to sit up; she was still laughing herself silly over him thinking it was Dr. Oliver. Moving her head so she could look up into his face from her spot on his shoulder, she saw so many things reflected back at her. As she searched his eyes, she found what she'd been looking for. "It's you," she whispered.

Conner couldn't have been more shocked if Mesogog had waltzed into the café, naked as a jay bird, singing show tunes and juggling chickens then he was at hearing her two tiny words. "Me?"

"You heard me, Conner, I know I didn't stutter when I said it," she huffed. Before she had a chance to move away or be too much more annoyed with him, Conner did something unexpected; he reached out, wrapped his arms around her, and leaned in to kiss her.

In a perfect world, they'd have kissed for several long, satisfying minutes. However, the world is not perfect, and Ethan chose that moment to pop back in. "So, you two done making your love confessions to each other?" he asked, popping a couple kernels of popcorn into his mouth while they turned from each other to stare at him. "Oh, sorry, don't mind me; I'm just enjoying the show."

"Ethan, you have two seconds to get lost before I use your butt as my new soccer ball," Conner growled.

"Sheesh! I see how it is! I'm just gonna be a third wheel with you two together!" Ethan grumbled. "Forget the fact that I've been your secret confidant for the last three years, forget that I told you both to go after what you wanted a long time ago….this is the thanks I get!"

"Ethan, if you want to retain your hearing, you'll step away, quickly," Kira threatened, reminding them all that her powers were once again intact.

"I'm going, I'm going. I expect to be best man at the wedding and the godfather of your first born!" he called over his shoulder, leaving them alone.

Once he was gone, the two turned back around to face each other. "Now, where were we?" Kira laughed.

"Right about here," Conner murmured, leaning in to graze his lips over hers. He did it several times before pulling back, smiling at the dazed look on her face. "Well, I guess I finally found out where Christmas has been lately." Kira just looked up at him and smiled.


	6. 6: Red Misses His Pink

Where Are You Christmas

Chapter 6: Red misses his Pink

By: Pink-Green-White-4ever

Last Revised: December 14, 2007

Summary: His first Christmas as a human has him wishing for one very special gift that he's not sure even Santa can bring him

Rating: T

Ship: Red/Pink

AN: I couldn't pass up this opportunity to do a special Christmas for these two, they became one of my favorite things about the last season!

AN2: This one is set after Crown and Punishment.

--

The tree stood towering in the living room. This year's decorations were red and white, and as Spencer put it, rather symbolic of the year they'd had. There was garland and tinsel all over the house, Christmas music blared through the air, and the scent of sugar cookies was coming from the kitchen, courtesy of Spencer's festive mood. His dad was downtown taking care of some business, and he had no one but himself to hang out with. He knew he should be all but bouncing off the walls, or trying to figure out what were in the brightly colored packages under the tree. He just didn't feel like it. His first Christmas as a real person, the one that should be most memorable, was turning out to be a dud.

The one thing he wanted under the tree wouldn't be there; first of all, because it wouldn't fit under there, and second, because said gift was in England teaching a class on mythology. "Mack, if you keep looking at the tree like that, it may fall down," Spencer teased as he walked in, carrying a tray laden with food. Mack took one look at the tray and knew he didn't feel like eating at all, despite that Spencer had made his favorite sandwich and had included straight from the oven cookies.

The kindly butler set down the tray he was carrying and stared at his young charge, as if sizing up what was happening. It was a look Mack knew all too well, so the former Red Ranger continued to stare at the Christmas tree. "Mack, what's wrong?"

"Nothing."

Spencer raised an eyebrow before walking over and sitting down on the couch. "I know you miss them," he started, pausing briefly to consider his words. "I miss them too, and so does your father. The house seems so empty without them here."

Mack's jaw twitched, but other than that, he didn't move. "It doesn't matter. They all had lives to get back to, I can't begrudge them that. Besides, they've all called to wish us a happy holiday."

"But it's not the same as having them here," Spencer pointed out. "Did you ask any of them if they'd like to come for a visit?"

"What would be the point?" Mack asked, turning to his friend. "They all have families, and I'm sure they're spending the holidays with them. This was supposed to be a memorable Christmas, but I really wish it was over with already, to be honest." That said, Mack pushed up from the couch and ran upstairs, leaving Spencer sitting in the living room, contemplating his next move.

--

Christmas Eve turned out to be a snowy mess. From his window in his room, Mack could see that the world outside resembled a giant snow globe. Any hope he'd had that there might be even the slimmest chance of him getting his Christmas wish this year had flown straight out the window as he stared at the snow. If he was honest, the snow hurt to look at, because it reminded him of their last battle against Flurious, and what had transpired afterward. It reminded him that his friends weren't with him, especially the one he really wanted with him.

Staring off into the distance, he felt the memories swell around him in time with the song that was playing on the radio. "All you snowed in romantic nuts ought to enjoy this Christmas treat. Here's Faith Hill with Where Are You Christmas from the Grinch Who Stole Christmas soundtrack."

If he closed his eyes, he could still remember ever moment immediately following the Sentinel Knight placing the crown on his head and turning him human. He remembered the others being shocked beyond belief; he remembered the pounding in his head and the steady beating of his heart. Most of all, he remembered the first person who had touched that heart – she'd been standing in front of him, looking at him in complete shock, and then she'd smiled and let the tears spill down her cheeks when he'd taken her hand and placed it over the heart he knew would always beat for only her.

Christmas was supposed to be a time for miracles, but what good was his miracle if he couldn't share it with the one he loved? He'd never gotten the chance to tell her, and now he was seriously wondering if he ever would be given the chance to tell his lovely Pink Ranger just how he felt about her.

--

"Mack, it's time to get up," Spencer called as he opened the door to the former Red Ranger's room.

"What time is it?" Mack groaned, trying to roll onto his side but finding there was something heavy lying on his chest.

"It's nearly eight thirty, and you have guests. Get up," Spencer grinned at the confusion on Mack's face before he closed the door.

Mack tilted his head to see what was laying on him and nearly choked. Curled up against his side and on his chest was the familiar form of the Overdrive Pink Ranger, HIS Pink Ranger, Rose. He blinked rapidly, trying to figure out if he was seeing things or if she was really there in bed with him. She was sleeping peacefully, her body curled into his under the covers. He hadn't realized it, but his arms were wrapped around her tightly, holding her close. "Rose?"

She whimpered then, stretching unknowingly against him, causing him to groan. Reaching up, she rubbed the sleep from her eyes and tilted her face up. Her head still rested on his shoulder as she smiled up at him. "Hi."

"What…how…..I….you…"

Rose giggled and snuggled closer to him, enjoying the warmth. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you," she yawned.

"How?" he asked again, really wanting to know.

Smiling, she pushed up so that she was leaning over him. "Spencer called me a few days ago, said he was looking to get an extraordinary young man the perfect gift for Christmas, but it seemed that nothing was working. Then he mentioned how said young man was perhaps missing his teammates. Next thing I know, I'm on a first class flight to San Angeles."

Biting his lip, Mack reached his hand out to cup her cheek. She smiled and brought her own hand up to cover his. "I can't believe you're here."

"Thank Spencer and your dad," Rose giggled. "And if I remember correctly, you've got a few more gifts waiting downstairs, which would be why Spencer said it's time to get up. Besides, you know Dax, he gets excited at the simplest things."

Mack's eyes widened when he realized what she was saying. "The others are here too?"

She nodded. "Did you think we'd skip out on your first REAL Christmas? Especially after all we've been through?" When he blushed and nodded, she glared at him playfully. "Honestly Mack, what's gotten into you? Spencer said you were too afraid to call us. Why?"

"I….I figured you were with your families; I didn't want to intrude…"

Shaking her head, she leaned down and grasped his chin in her hand, forcing him to look at her. "You're our family too, or have you still not gotten that through your thick head yet? If not, I'll tell Will," she whispered.

Without a thought, Mack reached for the back of her head and nudged her mouth down to his, their lips locking in a soft, loving kiss. He didn't have time to think of what he was doing, not with Rose's lips softly caressing his own with the same passion and love that he was putting into the kiss himself. When air became a necessity, they pulled back and stared at one another, their breathing erratic. "Mack?"

"Merry Christmas, Rose."

Smiling, she reached out and cupped his cheek. "Merry Christmas, Mack."


	7. 7: Green Desires Pink

Where Are You Christmas

Chapter 7: Green desires Pink

By: Pink-Green-White-4ever

Last Revised: December 20, 2007

Summary: This Green misses and desires his Pink, who's so far away…

Rating: T

Ship: Green/Pink

AN: This one is for Enigmaforum! Merry Christmas Sis!

AN2: Set after Operation Overdrive ended, and a certain Green Ranger's appearance in Once A Ranger.

--

Something was wrong. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but something was wrong. Looking around the room, he hoped he'd figure out what. He and Chip had spent an hour and a half putting up Christmas decorations. It would have been a bigger job if it hadn't been for them using their powers to speed up the process. Christmas music was blaring over the sound system, filling the air with holiday classics and some new stuff too. Toby was singing along while he bopped around the store dressed in a Santa hat. Nick was at the register, ringing up another sale, and Maddy was just walking through the door, a grin in place. That's when it hit him. Something wasn't missing, but SOMEONE was.

His eyes darted over to the empty D.J. stand in the corner. Vida was no where in sight. When they'd graduated in June, she'd gotten an internship at a record company in Los Angeles, while he, Maddy and Chip had all elected to attend Briarwood University. He hadn't seen her since graduation, and hadn't heard from her since he'd gotten home from his jaunt to help out the Overdrive Rangers. That had been nearly six months ago. Even if he wouldn't admit it out loud, he missed her terribly. No one was quiet like his V when it came to keeping him stimulated with an array of discussions, arguments, and just plain goofing off.

"Xander?" Maddy's soft voice caught his attention, causing him to turn and face her.

"So, you finally decided to come out of the editing room and join us?" he teased, walking over to hug her.

"Yeah, well, I've been out of town for the last few days," she grinned, leaning against his side. "Nick, Chip and I were sorta putting our heads together about what to get you, and I got elected to go pick it up."

He smiled. "Maddy, you didn't need to get me anything," he assured her.

"I know, but trust me, you're going to love what we got you," she told him. "By the way, V says hi."

The happy expression on his face shifted minimally. Anyone who didn't know him would think that he was actually upset to hear that, but Maddy knew better. He was disappointed Vida hadn't called him herself. "How is she?"

"Fine. She's having the time of her life, but says she misses home, even if it's only two hours away," the Blue Ranger told him. "I tried talking her into coming home, but she's swamped."

Xander nodded. "Look, Maddy, I hate to cut it short, but I've got some stuff to take care of. Be sure to let me know when you guys leave." That said, he turned and headed for the office, leaving behind an intrigued Blue Ranger.

"You may think you hide it well, but you suck at keeping secrets Bly," Maddy murmured to no one in particular before she turned and headed for the register and her boyfriend.

--

Three hours later, Xander sighed in frustration and threw the pencil he was holding across the room at the wall. He'd tried burying himself in his work, but Maddy's words kept coming back to haunt him. Damn if he hadn't wanted to see Vida for Christmas, especially since he'd thought she'd never miss Christmas with her parents and sister.

The knock at the door startled him. "Come in!" he called.

"Xander, we're heading out now," Maddy spoke, popping her head in the open door. "I left your present on the stage for you, since I'm guessing you won't be coming to Rootcore to join us."

"What makes you say that?" Xander croaked, looking like a deer caught in headlights.

"Because, I saw the look on your face earlier, and I know you better than you think. Just because she's not here, means you're going to be a hermit during your favorite time of the year. Am I right?"

Sighing, the Green Ranger sat back in his chair and stared at the woman he thought of like a little sister. "I miss her."

"I do too, but she made her decision, it's her life. She's got to follow her own path," Madison reminded him. "Anyways, I hope once you get a look at your present, you'll rethink coming to join us. If not, Merry Christmas."

"Thanks, Maddy, I appreciate it. Tell the others I said Merry Christmas."

"I will."

He stared at the door for a long time after Madison closed it. It was nearly Christmas, one of his favorite times of year – besides St. Patrick's Day for obvious reasons – and he really didn't feel like celebrating. Shaking his head, he stood up and grabbed his coat from the hook, deciding that for once he was going to do something for himself instead of working into the wee hours of the night. As soon as he exited the office, he felt someone else in the store, even though he'd thought that Nick and Chip had closed up earlier. "Hello?"

The words had barely left his mouth when the strains of an orchestra suddenly came over the sound system. He recognized the song as one of his mother's favorites – Faith Hill's _Where Are You Christmas_. "Excuse me? We're closed! I'm going to have to ask you to leave!" he called out to whoever was in the store, though he saw no one. Shaking his head at what he thought was him losing his mind, he turned to head for the stage to shut off the music and get his present. What he found sitting there floored him.

She was wearing a black cashmere sweater, black slacks, her favorite boots, with a pink ribbon tied just under her arms and a green Santa hat perched on top of her head. "I'm sorry, I didn't know you were closed," she grinned, leaning back on her hands. "I was told I was supposed to be delivering someone's Christmas present."

"V," he uttered.

"Give the man a cookie, he still remembers my name after six months," she laughed softly. "Hi Xander."

Blinking, Xander muttered under his breath something about going crazy. "I'm losing it," he told her.

"Um, no, last I checked, I was actually here. What, you don't like what the gang got you for Christmas?"

"It's not that, I'm trying to figure out why they got me you for Christmas," he told her.

She gave him a look. "My guess would be that since they've found themselves all lovey-dovey – Nick with Maddy and Chip with Clare – that they're trying to set us up."

Xander just stared at her before glaring. "You know, you suck at returning people's phone calls."

Vida laughed and hopped off the stage and walked toward him. "Yeah, I know, I'm sorry. Ranks right up there with you having a problem telling anyone Udonna sent you to help some newbie Rangers kick a big bad's ass."

The Green Ranger just blushed at that. "I already apologized for that."

"Doesn't stop me from worrying," she growled, poking her finger to his chest. She was only momentarily startled when he trapped her hand against his chest and the other one shot out to pull her close.

"So you're my present huh?" he gently asked, pointing to the pink bow she was wearing.

"Maybe. Have you been a good boy?" she teased, though she was finding it extremely hard being near him. Unknown to the others, she too had secret feelings.

"I should hope so, I just helped save the world, again, and not even with my own team this time," he teased, watching her eyes narrow in on his face. "I work diligently, I go to school and get semi good grades, I'm a fair boss, and I still take my magic seriously. What do you think?"

Smiling, she looked up at him. "Oh, sounds to me like you deserve whatever your heart desires."

Reaching out, Xander did something he'd kept himself from doing since he discovered girls were wondrous creatures - he reached out and cupped Vida's cheek gently. He was only a little shocked when she cuddled against it. "You, V; I only want you."

"Its funny how six months away from someone can make you realize how much you need them, everyday, in your life," she whispered, turning her lips to kiss his palm. "I miss you, Xander. Do you know what I wished for this Christmas?"

"No, what?" he asked, scarcely able to believe what he saw in her eyes.

"I wished to be home, with you, so I could tell you something."

He smiled. "What's that?"

"That I think I've fallen in love with you," she grinned, watching the shock filter over his face.

"You think? You mean you don't know for sure?" Appalled, Vida reached out and smacked the back of his head, causing him to glare at her. "What was that for?"

"Of all the insensitive, idiotic, moronic things you could say when a girl is telling you…"

"Oh, you mean you wanted this answer," he whispered, leaning down to kiss her. "I love you, Vida."

She blinked several times, hoping to get the vision of him smiling down at her to focus. "Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. Welcome home, V, welcome home." Leaning down, he kissed her again, the ending strains of the song filling the room.


	8. 8: A Pink Is Dreaming Of Her White

Where Are You Christmas

Chapter 8: A Pink Is Dreaming Of Her White

By: Pink-Green-White-4ever

Last Revised: January 2, 2008

Summary: If you can't tell by the title, then you obviously don't know me too well….

Rating: T

Ship: White/Pink

AN: HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY SHAWN!!!

AN2: Set Christmas 2007!

--

It's snowing. I look out the windows near the gate I'm supposed to be departing from to head home and I see nothing but white fluffy stuff all over the place – the tarmac, the planes, all the vehicles. I'm in southern California and its SNOWING. If I didn't know any better, I'd say this was Zedd's handy work, but since he's dead and buried, I know it's not him. I can't help but sit here in wonder. In all my years, and with all the crazy ass experiences I've had, this tops it all. Not even meeting Zordon the first time gave me this much of a surprise. It's freaking SNOWING in SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA! For God's sake, maybe Al Gore is right about this Global Warming stuff. Note to self, call Billy and get the 411 on it.

The shrill ringing of my phone brings me back to the land of reality. Looking down at the caller id screen, my eyebrows shoot up. Speak of the devil. "Hello Brother Wolf," I tease as I answer, hearing a familiar chuckle on the other end.

"Salutations Sister Crane. May I infer you are stuck at that airport due to the weather since you answered this?"

"That would be an affirmative. Billy, it's actually SNOWING. Not just flurries either, it's a freaking blizzard out there. Evil plot?"

More chuckling. "I'm afraid not. It's actually snowing in Reefside. Global warming will do that."

I scowl as I hear his comment. Damn it. "We should make a note to round up all the world's leaders and make some serious demands that they do something or the Power Rangers are going on strike. I mean, how many times have we saved this planet? And we're just going to sit here and let people destroy it with global warming?" I can joke like this since NO ONE is sitting even remotely close to me. Reefside airport isn't exactly the most popular tourist destination ever since Mesogog and his goons decided to try and turn us all prehistoric again. Thank you Tommy.

"Jason wanted me to tell you to stop blaming Tommy in your head," Billy chuckles as I hiss.

"Yeah, and who's fault is it Reefside is desolate? He's the one who was mentoring them," I mutter back. "Speaking of oh fearless leader, did he manage to get out of Reefside before this lovely blizzard hit?"

"Negative. According to Jason, he got caught on the expressway and had to turn back."

At least I'm not the only one missing the very first all Ranger reunion. The initial reunion was supposed to be everyone from Mighty Morphin to Space, with everyone else coming in the day or so after Christmas, all the way up through Overdrive – the newbies Adam had to go bail out a few months ago. "Wonderful. I get to spend my first trip home in over ten years in an airport three hours away. This sucks."

"My apologies Kimberly," Billy murmurs, trying to sooth. "Jason would like to speak to you."

"That's fine, put the dufus on the phone so I can yell at him for not booking me an earlier flight," I grumbled.

"Hey Sis…."

"Don't you Hey Sis me!" I snap. "Why couldn't you have booked me a flight out YESTERDAY? I'm stuck in an airport, with no hope of getting home for Christmas and I'm going to miss getting to see everyone!"

"Tommy's in the same boat…"

I want to scream. I want to swear. And his comment makes me want to cry. I was actually looking forward to hanging out with Tommy. We've been friends again for a long time now, since Trini's funeral. All issues having to do with the accursed Letter was gotten out of our systems not long after Trini's funeral. We talk on a pretty regular basis, and the few times I've flown into L.A. for functions, for either gymnastics or my singing career, Tommy's driven up to meet me, have lunch with me, party for a bit. I was seriously looking to hanging out with the only other single member of our entire team for more than a few hours. Now I'm stuck in a stupid airport and he's stuck at his house.

"That is not a reassuring thought, Jase. This isn't fair!" I whine in my best little sister voice, hoping to make him feel guiltier than I know he already is. When I hear the groan at the other end, I smile, having succeeded. Of course, I know it's not nice, and Jason didn't order the blizzard from hell, but still, it's fun to mess with him.

"I know, I'm sorry," he tells me, trying to sooth me just the same way Billy tried. It's not working. I don't like being stuck anywhere, because usually when that happens, bad things follow. Call it paranoia, but after being a Ranger for as long as I was, I can't sit still for too long when freaky things are happening around me. "Look, I'm going to call you back in a little bit, Kat and I are working on something that might cheer you up."

"Uh huh, right. You do that Jason, because I swear, if I'm stuck here for Christmas, I'm never going to forgive you." That said, I close my phone and lean my head back against the seat. I wanted to go back to Angel Grove, back to my home, far more than I think any of us realized. I've done my best to avoid going back the last few years, because I felt I had so much growing to do, because I felt like I needed to get comfortable in my skin and with who I am. This past year, I've finally felt ready. And now I'm stuck three hours away, in a freak snowstorm, in an AIRPORT! Fate bites Kimberly Hart in the ass yet again.

--

Three hours later has found me curled in a ball, staring listlessly out the window as the snow's getting deeper by the second. The very nice lady at the booth for the airline offered to give me a lift to a hotel, but I honestly don't want to go trekking outside in this kind of weather. Might as well be stuck in the airport, lonely and resigned to missing the reunion, than stuck in a hotel watching holiday movies that are only going to make me cry. I'm drawn from my depression as I hear a familiar ringing coming from my phone. Thanks to Billy, I have specialized ring tones for each of my friends, and this particular ring tone makes me smile; it's the song Tommy played to call the Dragon Zord so long ago. Reaching over, I pull my phone from my bag and see Tommy's name flashing on the front. "Hello?" I sigh, hearing a chuckle on the other end.

"I take it Jason wasn't joking when he said you were stuck at the airport in Reefside," the familiar and much loved tenor asks.

"That would be correct. You know, Fate couldn't have been nice enough to even give me time to get to your house before it decided to level Southern California with a blizzard," I tell him. "Are you warm at home?"

"Eh, not quite," he laughs. "Which gate are you at?"

"C13, why?" I ask, sitting up as I hear him chuckle.

"Because, I'm going to brave this nasty ass weather and come get you," he tells me, making me brighten considerably.

"What? Are you serious? Tommy Oliver, it's a blizzard out there! Don't kill yourself on my account!" I argue. "I was just messing with Jason earlier, don't think you need to come and get me."

"Kimberly, you know I'd do anything for you, including die for you," he utters quietly, so much so I barely hear him. I gasp in surprise, perhaps realizing for the first time that even though we've been apart for years, he still has some feelings for me that run deeper than even I could have guessed. "Just sit tight, I'll call you when I get there."

"Tommy," I whisper, then smile when I hear him chuckle. We both put aside his mini confession, but know we'll have to deal with it later. "Be careful."

"I will be. Talk to you in a bit." I'm left staring at my phone once the line goes dead. Oh wow, this day is actually looking up now.

--

I'm dozing slightly, waiting for Tommy to call me. It's been nearly an hour since he called and the snow has only gotten worse. Even half asleep though, I can sense that even though I'm alone, there's a presence not far from me. The air almost seems to pulse with a familiar energy that I know is just wishful thinking. None of us have had that kind of power since Zordon died. Shaking my head, I sit up and start rounding up my belongings, including the bag that one of the very nice airline guys went and got for me.

Just as I reach for my coat, which has fallen to the floor, I feel a hand on my shoulder. When I look up, no one is even remotely close to me. I cock an eyebrow when I feel the hand tighten and then I hear a familiar chuckle. Hissing, I reach out and slap the person who is next to me. "Tommy! That's not funny!"

He suddenly appears next to me. No one probably saw him, but that's not why I just smacked him. "You hit harder than I remember," he grumbled, rubbing the back of his head.

"You just broke a cardinal rule!" I utter, dumbfounded. "You used your powers…"

"To get my lovely former Pink Ranger out of the stupid airport," he finishes, and I wonder if he realizes he just called me HIS. "Besides, how was I supposed to get to your gate? I couldn't get passed security without a boarding pass."

I'm staring at him trying to recover from the shock of him breaking one of our cardinal rules and of course from the very pleasant fuzzy feeling I'm getting in the pit of my tummy from the affectionate way he's looking at me. "I swear, some days I don't know whether I want to throttle you or kiss you," I mumbled, watching him grin.

"So, Beautiful, what say we take your bags, brave the weather outside and head to my house? It's warmer and a hell of a lot more comfortable than staying here."

"Lead the way, oh fearless leader," I tease. He bends down and takes my bag before reaching out a hand to me. Grinning, I reach out and take his hand before boldly standing on my tip toes to brush a soft kiss over the corner of his mouth.

--

This is the first time I've been to Tommy's Reefside retreat. If I didn't know any better, I'd be asking some serious questions about how he can afford this house and the land surrounding it on a teacher's salary, but since I'm in the know, I know he pays for it all out of the nice, fat bank account he has thanks to his doctorate and because of the job he had with Anton Mercer all those years ago. Hey, being a Power Ranger never paid enough to take care of the bills. In fact, it paid ZERO money toward college, rent, groceries, etc. Not that any of us would change having been Rangers. Looking over at my companion, I have to struggle not to giggle outright. Tommy's on hands and knees, in front of his never-been-used-before fireplace, trying his damnedest to light a fire to keep us warm. It shouldn't amuse me so much, because any normal woman would be worried about hurting his pride, but I know this man; I know him better than almost anyone. He's driven alien constructed robots, held powers beyond the average human's imagining, and he's been to other planets and dimensions while leading a band of rag tag teenage superheroes for more years than he probably cares to count. And despite all that, he can't seem to light a simple fire.

"Damn," he mutters, sitting back on his legs, glaring at the fireplace.

"Aww, come on, bend back over and give it another shot," I giggle, watching him turn to look at me, a dark look in those beloved chocolate eyes. "Besides, I was enjoying the show. Those khakis make your ass look really nice."

He's glaring at me now, muttering under his breath again even as he bends back over to start fiddling with the fire. I let him attempt to light it some more before I take pity on him and crawl toward him. "Kim, I've got it," he assures me.

"Move over, you Boy Scout wannabe," I tease, reaching out to take the matches and newspaper from him. "Did you forget, Angelette for several years? One of our badges was lighting a fire." Quickly and efficiently, I get the fire started and sit back, grinning.

"You'd think, after all the things I've done, lighting a fire would be easy…" he mutters as we get up and move to the couch.

"Don't feel bad, Handsome," I reassure him as we sit on the couch and instinctively cuddle together. Tommy's arm is around my shoulders and I'm snuggled into his side, my head on his shoulder. Our legs are sort of resting together. "You do a lot of things I can't do."

His arm just tightens around my shoulders, holding me closer than before. I don't know where things changed for us, but it's probably been happening for a while, I was just too much in denial to notice it. Tommy and I haven't hung out all that much, only every couple of months, but we talk constantly, and until this very moment, I don't think I've ever realized how many of…well, I don't want to say old tendencies, since it's been over ten years since we were dating, but you could kind of call them that. We've recently broken out the old nicknames, we share longer hugs, tease each other a little more sexually than ever before, but until just now, I've never considered that as anything other than our grown-up selves trying to get to know each other.

It's probably nothing, in fact I'm sure I'm making more of a big deal out of this than it actually is, but the part of me that's never grown up, still believes in that happily ever after with my White Knight, even if he's not been my White Knight in ten years. I'm startled out of my thoughts when I feel Tommy's lips pressing a gentle kiss to my temple. We're both drowsy from our adventure in the snow and the attempts to get the fire going, neither of us has eaten yet, and we're snuggled together. Personally, I just want to go to sleep, but apparently Tommy has other plans. "What?" I mumble as I turn and burrow closer to him. I hate to admit it to anyone, especially myself because I like to think I've grown up enough to know I don't need a man for my life to be complete, but I've missed this; I've missed being in his arms like this and feeling safe and secure. No one has ever made me feel the way Tommy can, not even my own father, and he was supposed to be my ultimate protector. No man's arms have ever felt as safe, warm, and calming as Tommy's; few have ever come close.

"Question for you," he whispers into my hair.

"Shoot."

"What did you wish for, for Christmas?" he asks, and I can tell he's grinning from the tone of his voice.

I have so many good retorts on the tip of my tongue. "To not need battery operated assistance anymore," I smirk, feeling him crack up laughing.

"I'm serious, Kim."

"I'm serious too. Do you know how long it's been since I've had a man who's known how to please a woman? Talk about droughts…" I utter, causing him to chuckle.

"Kimberly…"

Angling my head up, I see he actually wants me to seriously answer the question. "You want a serious answer?"

"Yeah."

"My biggest wish this year was to come home," I tell him, not once breaking eye contact with him. I can't be more honest than that, because it is what I wanted most. I wanted to be home with my friends, the ones who know me better than even my family does. I wanted to be in the only home I've ever really known, reliving cherished memories with people who've shared my same experiences. I wanted to feel normal instead of feeling like I've lived and seen more than any human should have to.

He doesn't answer; he just reaches up and brushes my bangs from my face. I can tell he understands what I've told him with my eyes and refused to tell him with my words. I know he understands, because he's felt the same way. I've always thought being a Ranger was akin to being in a secret society, and only those who've been Rangers understand the need to feel normal and to be around those who've been through what they've been through.

I'm the last of us to come home, and not completely by choice. Life has kept me far from the place that is my heart, but there was just something about this Christmas that beckoned me to come back, and until that moment in the airport this afternoon, I hadn't even realized my dire need to be in Angel Grove. Now that I'm sitting here, I can't help but think that maybe I needed to be back here with Tommy too. "What about you, what was your Christmas wish this year?" I ask, breaking the comfortable silence that's settled between us.

The look in his eyes tugs at my heart in ways I haven't felt it tugged at in forever. "Honestly?" he asks, and I can only nod. "I think I'm finally ready to fall in love again."

I am absolutely speechless. I've known Tommy for over half my life now, just as I've known most of my male friends for over half my life, but I'd have never expected him, or any guy I know, to say something like that. Yeah, yeah, I know, guys have feelings too, but honestly, how many girls know a guy who would admit that?

"Wow, I don't know what to say to that," I whisper, reaching out to take his hand in mine. "What brought that on? I always assumed you were comfortable where you were?"

The sadness that seeps onto his face has my heart breaking. "I am, or was," he starts, and then pauses to compose himself or choose his words carefully, neither of which I can decide on. "I guess, I've just been so busy the last few years, I never realized that I've accomplished everything I wanted to but the most important."

I know that tone of voice, I've heard it before. Long, hot summer nights spent laying on a blanket in the park talking is where I've heard that tone before; nights spent dreaming about a family, kids, someone to love. "You've never mentioned this to anyone, have you?"

He shakes his head. "Kim, all our guys friends are finding their other halves, are starting families, and I'm the only one still doing the Ranger thing, or was until recently. When I was doing said Ranger thing, I was able to put everything out of my mind, but I'm twenty-nine years old now, and I've only come close to asking one woman to marry me, let alone getting anywhere near having a family of my own."

I'm sure the look I'm giving him isn't helping. A small, childish part of me burns with anger at the thought of him proposing to anyone, despite what happened between us. "I'm sure if you'd asked Katherine, she'd have said yes."

He's smiling sadly at me. "I never said it was Katherine."

And my heart has just stopped. We've talked about past relationships before. Kat was his last serious relationship; that isn't to say it was his last sexual one, just his last serious one. The only other serious relationship he had before that was with…. "Kim, what are you thinking?"

"That I need some fresh air," I gasp, bolting out of his arms and heading for the door.

"Kimberly."

He's right behind me on the porch. He's so close I can feel the heat of his body despite the distance between us. Oddly enough, I can hear the stereo that seems to have turned on all by itself, playing in the background through the open door. Ironic isn't it, that the song is one of my favorite holiday songs – Faith Hill's _Where Are You Christmas_.

"You can't tell me there wasn't ever anyone else you truly felt like proposing to," I tell him, wrapping my arms around myself.

"I thought about it on several occasions with Katherine," he admits. "I never said I didn't think about it with her, nor did I ever say it hadn't crossed my mind with any of my other girlfriends. What I said was, there was only one person I ever came close to asking."

I turn sharply and face him. "Tommy, what's happening between us?"

"I don't know," he whispers. There's honesty in his eyes along with a bunch of other emotions I simply don't have the energy to try and decode right now. I know whatever is between us right now is changing before my very eyes, but I can't make sense of it.

Or maybe it's more that I'm scared to acknowledge that he's on to something. My mind shifts back to the present when I feel his arms slide around me, bringing me to lean against his chest. It's absolutely freezing outside, but his warmth is shielding me from the better part of it.

"Kimberly, I have things I want to say to you, but I don't want you to interrupt," he starts, leaning his head against the top of mine. "Will you listen to me? Give me a chance to get it all out before you say anything?"

I only nod, moving my arms so that they wrap around his waist. I can feel and hear the steady beat of his heart under my ear. I can sense the tension in his muscles, like he's preparing for battle, and perhaps he is; he's preparing for the most important battle of his life.

"I stopped believing in fairytales a long time ago," he softly starts. "And then I moved to Angel Grove, and my life got turned upside down. I don't mean because I became a Power Ranger, though hey, that was definitely enough to turn it upside down. What I mean is, I met this amazingly beautiful and incredibly generous girl in the hallway of my new school and for the first time in my very short sixteen years, I felt like someone had knocked the breath right out of me." I know this story; I know it intimately because it's our story. I know the happiness we had, and the heartbreak I caused. "That girl turned into a woman, one who I thought I was going to spend the rest of my life with, who I felt I could love for the rest of my life, and because of her, I started believing in those fairytales again. Then it all came crashing down."

Pulling back, I stare up at him. Part of me doesn't want to hear what comes next, simply because even though it's an old hurt, it's still deeply rooted in the story of our lives. Nobody can say that what happens to them doesn't affect their lives to some extent later on. "I learned to live without that young woman, learned to get along without her friendship, her love, the light she brought to my life, and then when I lost another friend, I found her again, only this time, both of us had grown up."

My eyes play tricks on me, shifting images of the boy I knew to the man I'm standing in front of and back. It's taken me a long time to reconcile the man I know now with the boy who I loved with all my heart then, but I'm not alone. Tommy's had to do the same with me. I'm not the girl he fell in love with, I'm a woman now, one who isn't so naïve to the world, one who's seen and done things that no one would have expected me to. I've made my share of mistakes, just like I know Tommy has.

"I've loved others, deeply loved others," he whispers, pulling me from my trance. "I've made peace with my past, with the people I've loved and the things I've done that I can't change. In the last ten years, I've never once thought that you and I would be standing here in a near blizzard, and I never even gave a thought to how I'd be feeling standing here with you."

He's building up to something neither of us can really deny anymore. In the last few years, our friendship had slowly changed, despite the distance between us. We've both been so scared of upsetting the delicate balance between us that we never saw that it changed. Or maybe it's I never wanted to acknowledge that it changed. Obviously Tommy has, or he wouldn't be standing here telling me what I think he's about to.

"When we broke up, I never thought I'd love you again the way I'd loved you once, and I was right, because I don't love you the way I did when I was sixteen. I don't think anyone can ever love anyone the way they did when they were a kid, because love changes, it evolves and grows into something stronger, different."

"Tommy…"

His finger comes up to touch my lips. "You promised," he gently teases, pulling his finger away only to let it caress my jaw. "When we started talking again after Trini's funeral, I had so many mixed emotions where you were involved. I couldn't be sure if I was ready to accept your apology or if I was ready to let you back in where you'd once been so deeply rooted. If it hadn't been for a conversation with Jason not long after the funeral, I probably wouldn't have. We've been best friends for the last six years, Kim, and in that time, I've come to cherish you in ways I never had before. I love your quirky and sarcastic sense of humor, I love how brave you try to be for everyone, I even love that stubborn streak that you've seemed to pass down to every Pink Ranger in history." I could so kick him for that last one, and he knows it. "Most of all, I have no idea when it happened, what made it happen, or why it happened, but until this afternoon, I hadn't realized that I was falling in love with you again."

Talk about taking a girl's breath away. This is one of those moments, the ones that define your life. Not even my infamous stubborn streak or the fear running rampant through me can deny that tiny fact. I can see the truth of his words in his eyes. Tommy has never lied to me before, and I know he wouldn't lie to me about this. He's in love with me. Again. The question is what do I feel for him?

He's always known me better than anyone, including the girls. This thing, whatever it is, between us, it's not like before. I'm old enough, wise enough, and maybe just a tad cynical, but I know it's not like before. What we had before, that was pure, plain and simple. Once you've had something that pure, you never get it again, and I know that with certainty. I've never had a relationship with anyone else the way I first did with Tommy, but then, it could also be because of the circumstances surrounding mine and Tommy's first relationship with each other. That relationship was love at first sight strengthened by time, built in teamwork and tempered by friendship. I know with absolute certainty that I will never have a relationship like that again, and as I've grown into a woman, I've learned to accept that. First loves rarely last, but once in a while, first loves tend to be the greatest you ever have. I've loved others, just like Tommy has, but none have ever touched me so deeply that I wanted to make it permanent.

Which brings me to my problem right now; I'm not sure how I feel about what's going on between us. I love Tommy, I don't think there's been a day in my life since he walked into it that I haven't loved him, but I don't know if I'm in love with him again. I won't lie to him, but I also don't want to hurt him. Looking up at him, I try to convey with my eyes what I know I'll never be able to put into words. "Tommy…"

He smiles sadly at me, reaching up to wipe away the tears I didn't know were there. "I didn't expect you to feel the same way, Kimberly," he softly replies. "It would be too perfect if you were suddenly feeling the same way, and life isn't perfect. I told you, not because I need to know you love me back or because I wanted to put you in a hard spot, I told you because I had to. I can't keep denying it; I denied for years how I felt about you because I hurt, I'll be damned if I continue to do so."

"I have no idea what to say to you," I whisper, leaning my forehead against his chest. "I…"

"Kim, I just want you to promise me one thing," he tells me softly, one hand rubbing my back while the other cradles my head.

"If I can," I respond, pulling back in his arms to look at him. My eyebrows shoot up in surprise when I see him looking nervous, a little tentative, and suddenly very awkward. For a minute, I feel like I'm standing back on the shore of Angel Grove Lake, spilling what's in my heart to an equally as scared young man wearing all green. But I'm not that scared teenage girl, and he's not that young teenage boy who'd just had his world ripped out from under him; we're adults now, with adult responsibilities, desires, and problems.

"Can we take a chance on this, on us, again?" he asks, licking his lips as he stares down at me. "I'm not expecting to recapture what we had, because I don't think we can, but I want to see what's between us now."

"Tommy, I don't know…"

He brings his finger up and lays it over my lips. "Just hear me out, give me a chance. We aren't who we were then, and I refuse to lose you if I can help it. I have a feeling we can make a go of it, provided you're willing to give it a chance."

I shake my head. "Why? Why now?"

"Simple answer? I love you. Not so simple answer, I miss my best friend, I miss the person who knew me better than I ever knew myself, the one who I knew could look at me and without a word know exactly what I'm feeling, what I'm thinking. Deep down, I still want that family I always saw us having. I want the little boy with your nose and my eyes, and the little girl who is the spitting image of her mother. I want to be able to go to my grave knowing I finally did something for me."

What woman in her right mind could say no to that? The cynical part of me says this is just going to fall apart, that I'm going to screw everything up again, but the larger part of me, the part that once was the fearless and graceful Pink Ranger knows better. That part of me knows, deep down, that we had to grow up, had to go through everything we've gone through as individuals in the last ten years, because it was all leading to this moment, to this truth – we're meant to be together. As scared as I am of what this means, as unsure of my feelings as I am, deep down, I know where this is going, I know what the ending will be this time.

"Tommy?'

"Yes?"

Smiling up at him, I reach up to cup his cheek. "We take this SLOW. I don't want to rush into anything, I don't want to screw any of this up, because I'm still not a hundred percent sure of how I feel, but something inside of me is telling me you may be onto something. Are you going to be comfortable with another long distance relationship?"

The absolute joy on his face warms my heart in ways I never thought were possible. "I don't care how far apart we are, Beautiful, as long as you're mine."

I nod, knowing he's speaking the truth. "Then I guess the only thing left is to make it official."

The words barely leave my mouth when my lips are suddenly smothered by a pair of warm, soft lips that I haven't kissed in over a decade. His arms are tight around me, pressing me close to his body. "Beautiful," he gasps softly, our foreheads touching as we try to catch our breaths.

"Yeah?"

"I love you."

I grin. "I know."

"Welcome home."


	9. 9: A RedBlue Cheers Up His Yellow

Where Are You Christmas

Chapter 9: A Red-Blue Cheers Up His Yellow

By: Pink-Green-White-4ever

Last Revised: December 3, 2008

Summary: When a former Yellow loses her grandmother, can her Red-Blue cheer her up?

Rating: T

Ship: Yellow/Red-Blue

Author's Notes: This particular piece means a lot to me. It was fueled by the rapid decline of my own grandmother these last few weeks, and ultimately by her passing away on our Thanksgiving here in the US.

AN2: If you don't believe it snows in Southern Cali, I'll provide a picture ;P A friend of mine lives just north of San Diego and earlier this year got pictures out her bedroom window of snow on the hillside.

--

1 week before Christmas 2008

Releasing a deep breath, Rocky prepared himself to enter the Campbell family home in Stone Canyon. He hadn't been here in a few years, not since Aisha had returned from Africa in 2002. Aisha's grandmother had been the only one to remain in Stone Canyon after everything had gone back to normal, but Rocky hadn't been out to see her since, a fact that he was now kicking himself over. He stared at the front door and felt his eyes water slightly. Grandma Campbell had always been one of his favorite people in the world. When he and Adam had first started hanging out with Aisha, she'd laid down the law about what was appropriate behavior and that if they followed her rules then they were more than welcome in her home. Somewhere along the way, she'd come to think of him and Adam as the grandsons she'd never had.

Now she was gone.

She'd died peacefully in her sleep, leaving behind a large extended family to grieve the loss of the woman who had held them together. Briefly Rocky debated going up to the door, he had never felt more like an intruder than he did right this instant, but the phone call from Aisha's mother was still ringing in his ears. Aisha wasn't eating, she'd barely spoken two words to anyone, and she'd informed her mother she didn't want to go to the funeral later that afternoon. Mustering up his courage, Rocky clutched the long stem red and yellow rose in his hand and made the trek from his truck to the front door. Before he could even knock, Tanya's mother was ushering him inside.

"Rocky, it's sweet of you to come by," she told him, taking his coat.

"It's good to see you, Mrs. Sloan," Rocky greeted. "Is Aisha around?"

"Upstairs in the attic." Rocky knew that the attic had been made into the kid's room. Nodding, he went straight up the stairs to his right instead of following Tanya's mother back toward the kitchen.

A few minutes later, he was standing at the entrance to the attic, watching Aisha stare out the window, head resting on her folded arms as she sat folded up on the window seat. He couldn't see her face, but he watched her shoulders shake occasionally, so he knew she was still crying. His heart ached to simply walk over and comfort her, but that was impossible. He and Aisha had danced around each other for years, but had never gotten past being friends. That, and Aisha rarely accepted comfort; she was the original independent woman if he'd ever known one. Shaking his head, he padded over to sit in front of her. She didn't lift her head until he held the rose out in front of her eyes.

The dark brown orbs he loved so much widened and filled with tears as she looked from the rose to his face. "Pretty flower for a pretty lady," he murmured, feeling his heart break as her face crumbled. "Isha…"

He gasped softly but said nothing when she crawled into his lap, wrapping her arms around his waist and burying her face in his chest. Holding her rose in one hand, he began to rub his other up and down her back while whispering in her ear that he was there for her and that it was okay to cry.

They sat there for a long time, arms locked around each other – Aisha crying out her heartbreak and Rocky lending her his strength just when it seemed all hers had gone. Christmastime was supposed to be a time for family, for celebration of living, but now, for them, it would always be marked by the passing of one who they had loved so dearly. Finally, he felt her body give, so that she was limply laying against him. "Thank you," she whispered, turning her face to the window.

"Is there anything I can do?" he asked, already knowing the answer.

"No. Mom really wants me to go to the funeral, but I don't know if I can," she brokenly replied. "I don't know if I can face seeing her in a casket."

"Isha, after everything we've been through over the years, you know better," he told her, his voice taking on the tried and true Ranger quality. "You'll regret it the rest of your life if you don't go to that funeral and say goodbye to her. I know you, and I knew her, you love her too much not to do this one last thing for her. She'd want you there."

Pulling back, Aisha swiped her hand over her face, hoping to stop the tears, but it didn't work. They continued to leak out even as she stared up into Rocky's eyes. She knew her mother had called him, had asked him to come; she herself had been afraid to call him, to tell him over the phone that Grandma Campbell was gone. She'd wanted him there, but she hadn't been able to utter the words.

He'd always been there; she couldn't really remember a time, even when she'd been in Africa, that he hadn't been right beside her. She was good friends with all their teammates, particularly Adam since she'd grown up with him, but she and Rocky had always been closest. In school, she'd always been his best friend, the one who got him involved in activities, and he'd always been able to make her laugh when she felt like crap.

"Will you do something for me then?" she softly asked.

"Name it."

"Go with me," she pleaded, looking into his eyes. "I know you hate funerals, after losing your dad, but will you go with me?"

"Of course."

--

It didn't snow very often in Southern California, last year's freak blizzard not withstanding, but that afternoon as the Campbell's and their extended family gathered in the cemetery in Stone Canyon, it began to lightly flurry. Rocky stood at the back of the group of people had come out to see off Mrs. Campbell's body to its final resting place. Not far from where he stood, he saw Adam and Tanya together with Kat and Justin. Tommy and Kimberly were with Jason and Billy on his other side. Zack hadn't been able to make the trip down from San Francisco but had sent a card to Aisha's family. Rocky's heart went out to his former teammates, all of whom he knew were reliving Trini's funeral in their minds. When Aisha had joined the team, Grandma Campbell had accepted each of them with warmth and love, and he knew that to lose yet another piece of their teenage years was a blow; maybe not as big as losing Trini or Zordon, but it still hurt. Finally, Rocky's eyes latched onto Aisha, who was standing with her parents across the casket from where he stood. Even though there were a lot of people between them, he found her eyes meeting his and holding, his heart breaking at the look on her face. The fierce Yellow Ranger had taken a backseat to the heartbroken granddaughter. He tried to smile a crooked smile for her, but she just closed her eyes at the onslaught of more tears.

The graveside service was over before the former Ranger realized it, and people were slowly filing past the casket, giving their condolences to the family, and then heading for their cars. Rocky stayed right where he was, his eyes simply taking in Aisha's form. He watched their former teammates file past her, the girls coming together in a group hug and clinging while the guys watched on, helpless to stop their pain. Finally, Aisha's parents left her standing by her grandmother's casket on her own, so Rocky took that as his go ahead to approach her. "Isha?"

"Hmmm?"

"They're going to leave without you."

"I told Mom I'd catch a ride with you," she murmured, reaching out to take his hand. Her grip made him flinch before he squeezed back. They stood side by side, staring down at the casket that had been lowered into the ground. A bevy of flowers resided on it, and Rocky noted most of them were yellow. Appropriate given Aisha's status among the team. "She knew about us, you know?"

Startled, Rocky turned wide eyes toward Aisha in confusion. He wasn't sure she meant about them being Rangers or about something else. "Huh?"

"She knew we were the Rangers," Aisha murmured, leaning against Rocky's side. "She didn't tell me till I came back from Africa, but she knew. I'm surprised she remembered as much as she did, given the changes made to the timeline and all that, but then, I'm not, ya know?"

Rocky thought about it for all of two seconds and then cracked up, hugging Aisha close to his side. "Isha, Grandma C had a way about her; sometimes I think if we hadn't had Zordon, she'd have made an awesome mentor."

"Oh yeah, I could just see the doilies decorating the Command Center," she laughed for the first time all day. In fact, she laughed so hard a fresh round of tears leaked out of her eyes and down her face.

Sensing the shift in mood, Rocky turned her to face him and pulled her to his chest. "It's going to be okay," he whispered, smoothing his hands up and down her back. "It's going to hurt for a while, but it's going to get better. It won't ever stop hurting, but it will dull over time."

"I know, but I miss her so much," she cried against his chest, her hands fisted in his jacket front. "It's not the same."

"Life goes on, Aisha, and it's never the same. It wasn't the same when we lost Zordon, and it wasn't the same when we lost Trini, but it's gotten easier to deal with. It's not going to be the same without Grandma, but it will get easier to deal with. And she's always going to be with you, inside your heart, as long as you hang onto the warm, happy memories you have of her."

They stood there for another ten minutes before Rocky began tugging her toward his truck. "Goodbye Grandma, I love you," Aisha whispered with one last look before letting her best friend lead her away. Opening the door for her, Rocky helped her into his truck before closing the door and rounding the front. He stopped by his door, eyes on the fresh grave, and mentally said his own goodbyes.

"Home?" he asked when he climbed in and started the truck.

"Park," Aisha responded. "I don't want to go home just yet."

Nodding, Rocky pulled out of the cemetery and headed for Angel Grove and the infamous park. Along the way, he turned on the stereo to fill the silence that had settled between them.

--

They sat at the curb, silently lost in memories and their own thoughts. Aisha stared listlessly out the passenger window, watching the snow come down. Rocky sat with his back against his door, his eyes on his best friend. The radio droned on in the cab of the truck, filling the silence with the cheery music of the holiday season. "Our next song is from The Grinch Who Stole Christmas soundtrack. Give it up for Faith Hill and 'Where Are You Christmas'," the d.j. announced.

Rocky watched as Aisha closed her eyes against the tears that welled. "Aisha?"

"Hmm?"

"Come here," he beckoned, reaching out to pull her to him. Once they were settled, Aisha had her head nestled against his shoulder and his arm was around her, holding her close. "Kim's song."

Despite her sadness, Aisha laughed. Rocky was right, it was Kim's song. The former Yellow Ranger had heard ALL about the former Pink Ranger's experience the previous Christmas with that song, how the stereo at Tommy's had suddenly sprung to life and the lilting tune had begun to play as Tommy and Kim made yet another life changing decision. "I love this song," Aisha softly told him, angling her head back so she could stare up at him. "Wanna know why?"

Rocky smiled at her and nodded. "Why?"

"Because this song gives me hope," she replied. "It was playing when Tommy and Kim finally got back together, and if that isn't hopeful, I don't know what is. It was one of the songs my parents played at their reception two years ago when they reaffirmed their wedding vows. It's a sad song, but I really do enjoy it."

Staring down into her dark almond colored eyes, Rocky finally stopped fighting his feelings and did something completely out of character for him – he took an emotional leap of faith. Leaning down, he brushed his mouth against hers, smiling slightly at the sharp intake of breath Aisha dragged into her lungs. When she didn't slap him, he leaned in again, more firmly this time, and laid his lips over hers. When she showed no signs of protest, he brought his hand up to caress her cheek. "Isha?"

"What was that for?" she breathlessly asked, her eyes searching his as he pulled away from her.

"Because I wanted to, have wanted to for a long time," he breathed, moving to rest his forehead against her own. "I want to tell you something, so please don't interrupt." She merely nodded, her eyes latched onto his. "Just because you lost someone you loved, doesn't mean there aren't other people here who love you just as much. And I know it won't ever be the same, but you are loved."

Licking her lips, Aisha brought her hand to his cheek. "Do you have any idea how long I've been waiting for you to get off your ass and tell me?" she teased, laughing though tears trickled down her cheeks. Rocky just stared at her in shock, watching her eyes crinkle with laughter. "One of the last things she said to me was that I needed to get off my behind and go get my boy or some other woman was gonna steal him."

Rocky finally laughed at that, drawing Aisha closer to him and gently kissing her temple. "There wasn't a thing she didn't see, I'm telling you. Could never lie to her, hide things from her, or deny a damn thing," he cracked. "Isha?'

"I love you," she told him softly, snuggling close. "Thank you for being here with me today. I know it doesn't always seem like I need people, because I know I love being independent, but I needed you today, and you didn't disappoint."

Rocked by her admission, Rocky just squeezed her shoulder. "No one says you have to stop being independent, but you seriously need to learn how to lean once in a while," he chided her, feeling her nod. "And Aisha?"

"Hmm?"

"I love you too."


	10. 10: A Silver's Blue Christmas

Where Are You Christmas  
Chapter 10: A Silver's Blue Christmas  
By: Pink-Green-White-4ever  
Last Revised: December 18, 2008

Summary: Gold grants his Silver sister her Christmas wish  
Rating: T  
Ship: Silver/Blue

Author's Notes: For this, assume that RPM ended before Christmas (as we know we still have like 4 episodes to go that haven't aired), assume that the Rangers were able to save Tenaya, and assume that Venjix was destroyed.

Dedicated to: Enigmaforum and all the FG fans out there! Merry Christmas.

--

Outside her warm bedroom, Gemma could see the white flakes of snow falling softly on the ground. The dome's climate controls were set to winter, as it was nearly the middle of December. It was time for the holidays, and a time of year Gemma didn't usually pay much attention to. Alphabet Soup had never provided a holiday atmosphere, and after being out in the wastes for so long with Gem, she'd just stopped celebrating. But this year, it was supposed to be different. They were in Corinth, they had teammates now, they had Dr. K back, and the threat of Venjix no longer hung over their heads. It should have been a time of celebration, but the Silver Ranger found she didn't feel like it at all.

The radio softly lilted in the background, pouring holiday music from its speakers. They'd begun playing the songs shortly after Thanksgiving, right after they'd defeated Venjix. At first, it hadn't been so bad, but there was one song that seemed to put Gemma in a melancholy mood. It was called 'Where Are You Christmas' and was by a singer named Faith Hill. Dr. K had explained that she'd been a successful country and western singer before Venjix had destroyed the world. The song was hauntingly beautiful, but it made Gemma ache inside in ways she didn't understand.

"What's wrong?" Gem's concerned voice called out, as he moved into their room to sit next to her on her bed. From his reflection in her window, Gemma could see he was biting his bottom lip, a sure sign of distress.

Gemma just continued to rest her head on her arms and kept her eyes outside. She really didn't want to talk to Gem about what was bugging her, because she honestly felt he wouldn't understand. In the months since they'd come to Corinth, she felt like she'd grown up, become such a different woman. Her brother wasn't keen on her going her own way, especially in matters of the heart….he just didn't understand. "Nothing's wrong, Gem, I'm just tired."

The Gold Ranger huffed out a breath, frowned, and then got excited. "How about we go blow something up? It always cheers me up!"

"No thank you," Gemma murmured, closing her eyes against the tears that were gathering there; the song was on the radio again.

"We can go build something cool? I'm sure Dr. K will let us help her in the lab!" Gem all but bounced at the idea.

"No thanks."

Biting his lip again, Gem watched his sister and wracked his brain, trying to figure out how to cheer her up. Obviously, he was going to need to call in reinforcements. Shaking his head, he left Gemma at the window and headed downstairs to talk to Dr. K; he was sure she would have the answers he needed.

--

"It's simple, Gem; Gemma misses the other Rangers and Tenaya," K explained, all the while her attention was on her computer. If she was honest with herself, she'd have admitted she missed them too, particularly Ziggy….

"But…" the Gold Ranger responded, unsure of what she meant. His sister had never been like this before; Gemma never lost her happy.

Turning from the screen, Dr. K sighed. "Gem, it's the holidays. A time for family and for celebrating being together - or so everyone says. Gemma's missing the others because she obviously considers them her family, just like she considers you and I family.?"

He nodded, understanding that part, and sighed. "She misses Flynn, is what you're telling me." It wasn't like he didn't get that his sister had feelings for the Blue Ranger, it was just he didn't want to lose her; she was all he had left.

Dr. K nodded, a sympathetic look on her face when she caught the look on his, knowing where his thoughts were. She knew it was hard for him to accept that Gemma was growing up and away from him, as they'd been attached at the hip, so to speak, their entire lives. Letting go was difficult. "He's been spending an awful lot of time with his father since we beat Venjix. The two of them grew extremely close the last few months, what with her helping him with the Road Attack Zord. It has been just a little too quiet around here without them."

The Gold Ranger looked deep in thought as he quietly exited the lab under K's watchful eye. If she knew Gem as well as she thought she did, he'd be thinking of how to cheer his sister up. If there was one thing she could give him props for, as Ziggy often said, it was cheering his sister up.

--

"Flynn, me'boy, why are ye sitting here moping? Ye should be happy, boyo. It's Christmas time, the world is safe thanks to ye and yer friends."

The Blue Ranger shrugged. "I guess I just don't feel like celebrating, Da."

The elder McAllister shook his head. "Have ye even left the house once since ye've been home?"

Flynn said nothing as he handed his father the wrench he was looking for. He hadn't really left the house because he was afraid he'd find beating Venjix was all just a dream. Plus, he was afraid his friendships would have changed now that they were no longer active Rangers. They had all moved on to normal lives again, why would any of them want to be reminded of what they'd done, or had been? "I guess I just needed a break."

"Flynn McAllister, don't stand there and lie to me," his father admonished, wagging the wrench at him. "I've never known ye to be scared of anything, me'boy. Now, why haven't ye left the house? Why haven't ye gone to visit yer friends?"

Sighing heavily, Flynn sat on the stool behind him, wiping the grease from his hands. "I guess I'm afraid things have changed, too much."

"In general, or with a certain person in particular?" Mr. McAllister remembered all too well the victory party the Rangers had thrown after defeating Venjix. His song had been awfully chummy with the pretty and energetic Silver Ranger at the time.

"I plead the fifth," Flynn muttered, lapsing into silence.

A knock on the garage door ended the conversation. Turning, both men set eyes on a young man, dressed in a mail courier uniform, standing at the door. "Flynn McAllister? Mr. Flynn McAllister?"

Flynn hopped off the stool and approached the man. "That'd be me, what can I do for ya?"

"For you, Sir. Have a good day," the man responded, handing Flynn a blue envelop with his name neatly printed on the front in silver glitter.

"Well lad, what is it?"

"I'm not sure," he spoke while carefully opening it. Inside was a white card decorated with crayon renditions of the Rangers. Opening the card, he saw what to be Gem's careful writing, since it was all in gold.

"Flynn?"

After a moment, the Blue Ranger grinned. "It's an invitation to a Christmas part at the Garage on Christmas Eve."

"Guess ye'd best go Christmas shopping lad."

Flynn's smile was wistful. "Guess I'd better."

"Lasses like things that sparkle," the elder man hinted. Flynn just flushed and nodded before heading into the house.

--

Gem watched his sister sit and stare out the window of their room. She'd been too quiet the last few days, much too quiet. She had barely moved from her spot on her bed. "Gemma?"

"Hmm?"

"Could you please come downstairs? It's Christmas Eve, and Dr. K wants to exchange presents."

The Silver Ranger sighed. She knew she should be happy, should try to be, but she really missed the others. But it wasn't fair to Gem and Dr. K for her to mope around the garage like she had been; they missed the others too. "Let me get dressed and I'll be right down." Gem nodded and ran from the room.

Gemma emerged ten minutes later in her sweats, her eyes widening as she saw the group gathered at the bottom of the stairs. Colonel Truman, Corporal Hicks, and Scott were standing with a smiling Dr. K while Dillon, Summer, Tenaya and Ziggy were standing next to Gem. And then there was Flynn, all dressed up, standing near the stairs. "Well gee, look who finally decided to join the party!" Ziggy teased.

A wide, happy grin broke out on Gemma's face as she flew down the stairs. Flynn braced himself as he caught her jumping off the third step straight into his arms. "You're here!" she laughed, wrapping his arms around his neck.

"Of course, lass; did you think we'd miss your first Christmas in Corinth?" Flynn whispered against her ear. He frowned when he felt her tremble. "Gemma?"

"I'm glad you're here," she breathed softly, pulling back just a little to stare up into the face of the handsome blue ranger.

"Flynn, would you let her go so someone else can hug her?" Scott teased, pushing the Blue Ranger aside before hugging Gemma. The Silver Ranger found herself being passed from teammate to teammate, hugging them each.

"You look shell shocked," Summer commented when she pulled back from hugging her.

"I didn't think any of you would be here," she laughed and tried to keep back the tears. Finally, her brother grinned proudly, prompting her to throw her arms around him. She had become quite aware that it had been his idea for the party. "Thank you."

"Dr. K helped me," he sheepishly told her, hugging her back. "You were so sad, I just had to cheer you up, and since you didn't want to blow stuff up, I thought this was the next best thing."

"Alright! Enough mush! Let's party!" Dillon called out, a mischievous smile on his face as he wrapped an arm around Summer.

--

Gemma found herself sitting at the food bar in the kitchen watching everyone she knew and loved party and celebrate not only their victory, but the holiday season. The colonel was sitting and talking to Summer and Dillon, who were snuggled together. Scott and Hicks were at the pool table trying to teach a laughing Tenaya how to play. Ziggy was unsuccessfully following Dr. K around the room, complaining loudly that she wasn't following tradition after having been caught under the mistletoe with him by Flynn earlier. Gem was behind her, helping Flynn make drinks for everyone. Her family was happy, healthy and together.

Even better was the fact that Venjix was gone. That thought alone made her ecstatic. It had been a long, hard year, and they had all been changed, for better or for worse. Her truest wish had come true – she and Gem had found their place, had gelled with their teammates; for all the obstacles they'd faced, it had been on miracle year.

"Gemma?"

Startled from her musings, the Silver Ranger turned right and found Flynn standing next to her. "Having fun?" she asked, grinning as they both watched her brother carry a tray out to the others, enthusiastically telling them he'd made the drinks while they looked at him skeptically.

The Blue ranger nodded, suddenly looking more nervous than Gemma had ever seen him. "Can ya do me a favor?" he asked, reaching up to rub the back of his neck.

"Sure!" she chirped and then giggled when he held his hand out to her.

"Take a walk with me?' he softly questioned, staring into her eyes. Nervously, shyly, she nodded and put her hand in his, letting him lead her outside while everyone else partied.

--

"Is everything okay?" she asked, almost afraid to break the comfortable silence between them.

Flynn grinned at her, hearing the unsure tone in her voice. He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. "Everything's fine," he assured her. "I wanted privacy when I gave ya yer present."

Gemma looked confused - he didn't bring any brightly colored box with him when they left the garage. "You didn't have to get me anything."

"The day a man HAS to get anything for a pretty lady, then something's wrong," Flynn teased, making Gemma blush. He stopped walking and tuned toward her. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a long, rectangular box topped with a blue and silver bow. Gemma's eyes widened as he held it out to her in one hand and opened it with the other. She gave a gasp when she saw what was nestled inside – a blue lion and a silver tiger intertwined in a pendant.

"Oh Flynn," she murmured in shock.

"I know you don't wear jewelry as a rule, but I figured since Venjix is gone, you might like it and would wear it."

The Lion Ranger watched his former teammate purse her trembling lips and blink back what looked like tears before she reached out. With unsteady fingers, she caressed the pendant and smiled. "It's beautiful," she whispered.

Quickly, Flynn freed the necklace from the case, which he handed to her, and moved to stand behind her. Reaching around her, he draped the pendant at her throat and did the clasp. "Perfect," he grinned.

"Thank you."

Moving back to stand in front of her, Flynn noticed for the first time just how much she'd changed – she was always sure to have her Boom Happy moments, but in her eyes, his Gemma had finally grown into a woman. "Gemma?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I kiss you?"

She looked momentarily startled before a shy, happy smile peaked out. Nodding, she held her breath as he drew closer. Involuntarily, she closed her eyes when his warm, soft lips met hers. Before Gemma knew it, Flynn had pulled her into his arms and held her tightly to his chest. Her arms were around his waist, fingers digging into his hips. The kiss was slow, tentative, and happy. And then it changed. She gasped against his mouth when his tongue caressed the tender seam of her lips, nudging them open before diving in.

The pair of them were so involved in the intense kiss they never noticed that it had started lightly snowing around them, turning the city into a literal snow globe. Passion and heat finally faded, leaving them both gasping as they pulled back. "Gemma?"

"Hmm?"

"Merry Christmas," Flynn whispered, reaching up to frame her face.

"Flynn?"

"Yes lass?"

"Merry Christmas!" she laughed, leaning forward to kiss him before throwing her arms around him.


	11. 11: A Green Gets His Fondest Wish

Where Are You Christmas  
Chapter 11: A Green Finally Gets His Fondest Wish  
By: Pink-Green-White-4ever  
Last Revised: December 2, 2010

Summary: The intense battle against Venjix left the Green Ranger and his mentor a little out of sorts, hopefully Gold's party can help mend the rift  
Rating: T  
Ship: Green/Doctor

Disclaimer: Don't own the Rangers (SABAN DOES!) and I don't own the song, that's Faith Hill's.

ZKZKZK

She sat at the computer, quietly going over the scans of the dome's operating systems. Since the Rangers had defeated Venjix, she hadn't had to do much more than keep the city's shields operational. It being Christmas vacation, all the children were out of school so she had no classes to teach. She should have been happy about that. Instead, she was miserable. In the last two years, she'd found herself relying on first Scott, Summer and Flynn, and then Dillon and Ziggy too, for companionship. Add in Gem and Gemma and she had a full house.

Now that house was all but empty and she missed the noise and confusion. There was no Scott waxing his car or Flynn and Summer arguing over how to fix an engine. There was no Dillon, being sarcastic or teasing, and no Ziggy bugging the heck out of her to admit she liked him. Even Gem and Gemma were being overly quiet, though K knew a lot of that had to do with Gemma missing her fellow Rangers.

Sighing, K pushed away from the computer station and headed for the door to her lab. Her chest tightened when she came face to face with the Ranger suits. They each seemed a lot dimmer than before, particularly the Series Green suit. Ever since the morphers had been packed away…. Shaking her head, she quickly left the lab to find something more cheerful to do.

ZKZKZK

Gem was up to something, she decided. He was sprawled out on the floor, crayons and paper spread everywhere. He'd come to her a few days before, worried about his sister. K figured he'd come up with a plan to cheer up the former Silver Ranger, but she couldn't know for sure.

"May I inquire what your craft project is?" she asked. The twins were on vacation from Eagle Squadron, so they'd been home more than normal. Not that it was a bad thing, but she'd gotten use to them only being at the garage during the weekends.

"I'm planning a Christmas party for Christmas Eve. These are the invitations," Gem grinned, holding p the card he was currently working on.

K gave a little gasp when she saw Gem's rendition of what could only be Series Green on the front. She and Ziggy really hadn't spent much time together since the team had disbanded, both incredibly busy with their classes at the school they'd opened. "I see. What about food, music and decorations?"

The former gold Ranger looked perplexed. "Um…I hadn't thought that far out."

Where once she would have rolled her eyes at him, she simply shook her head this time and smiled. Maybe he had the right idea, a party would be the perfect way to bring the team back together. "How about I go shopping?"

Gem grinned. "THANKS! Can I use your lab while you're gone? I've got some things to check on."

"Of course, just please, don't mess with my experiments," she told him before she turned to head out for supplies, her brain already clicking over to her new mission.

ZKZKZK

The city was bustling with people shopping for the holidays. Since the industrial district had taken the worst hit during Venjix's final campaign, they'd slowly been rebuilding it, but everywhere else in town was full of life and people. However, her daily travels revealed more and more people had been leaving Corinth to explore the world beyond. Those who stayed were cleaning the city of the destruction and getting back to a semi normal life, whatever that constituted for them.

Scott, Gemma, and Gem's next mission for Eagle Squad was going to be heading to Omega City to start the rebuilding process there. Now that it was once again safe to leave the dome, those who were going out and exploring were wanting to rebuild elsewhere.

Flynn and his father finally had their staff and would begin working on the city's computer network after the holidays. There hadn't been word from Dillon, Tenaya and Summer since they'd returned to get Tenaya medical treatment. She knew the pretty former Yellow Ranger was with her parents and that Dillon was spending most of his time at the hospital with his sister. The former villainess' implants had been giving her trouble, casing temporary blindness. Dillon hadn't wanted to take any chances with her and had brought her back. K had told the doctors to keep her updated on Tenaya's condition, in case there was anything she could do to help.

And then there was Ziggy. She saw him almost as much as she had Gem and Gemma. During school hours, they were busy and barely had time to see each other, and now that it was Christmas vacation, she saw him maybe once a day. He was spending a lot of time with the kids from the Orphanage.

"Dr. K?"

Turning, the former Ranger mentor found herself facing Corporal Hicks. "It's good to see you, Hicks. Felicitations for the holiday season."

"Likewise, but you look a little upset."

K blinked. "A trip down memory lane, I'm afraid, has put me in a bit of a sour mood. Gem's throwing a Christmas part and I'm afraid he's got me thinking about the others."

Hicks nodded. "I know Scott was headed to the hospital today to check on Dillon and Tenaya."

"Dr. Kerr is keeping me updated on her condition as well," K smiled. "Will you come to the Christmas party? I'm sure Gem and the others will be happy to see you."

"Sure, let me know when and where."

The good doctor nodded. "I'll make sure you get an invitation. Now, I've got to go, it appears I'm going to unfortunately be putting Ziggy's cooking lessons to use."

ZKZKZK

The tree was trimmed. He couldn't help but smile. The kids had each made an ornament and now sixty of them were hanging gracefully from their respective tree branches. They'd been delighted when he'd showed them the custom made tree topper – the RPM Rangers' logo – and custom made lights – shaped like the Rangers' helmets – that he had carefully crafted. The kids had argued about who was the better Ranger, until he reminded them it took the whole team to succeed. Staring at the tree, he realized for the first time how much he missed the others.

He saw K at school, and usually on weekends, but they rarely had free time to talk. He caught Scott on occasion, but the Red Ranger was pretty busy prepping Eagle Squad for their Omega City mission. He hadn't heard from nor seen Flynn in what seemed like ages, and he'd caught up with Dillon and Tenaya the day before at the hospital. He knew that Summer was spending time with her parents, thanks to a surly Dillon. K kept him abreast of the twins' comings and goings, but he hadn't actually seen them since moving out of the garage.

It made him sad to know the family they'd made had scattered to the winds. It had been hard enough watching Summer, Dillon and Tenaya leave a month before, but now they were back and it was only a matter of time until they left again. All in all, he missed his friends.

"Ziggy!" a little blonde girl named Becky called as she raced toward him.

"What's wrong?" he asked, crouching before her.

"There's a man at the door for you," she beamed up at him.

Turing from the tree, Ziggy took her hand and headed for the front door. Standing there was a courier. "Can I help you?"

"Ziggy Grover?"

"Yes."

The young man held an envelope out to him. It was green with gold writing. Even as the man left, Ziggy was tearing it open. His confusion turned to excitement, a grin forming on his face. "What's it say?" Becky asked, tugging on his pant leg.

"It's an invitation to a Christmas party."

ZKZKZK

The garage was decorated for Christmas; lights and garland were everywhere, a wreath was hung on a wall, and the tree was set up in the make-shift living room. She'd gone and bought everyone, including the Colonel and Hicks, a stocking. She and Gem had spent hours selecting items to fill them and wrapping the presents under the tree. A turkey was in the oven, and she could only hope she'd cooked it the right way.

Gem had set the table and was even now upstairs getting dressed. For once, she wasn't wearing her uniform. Instead, she wore a soft, velvet dress in hunter green and sensible black flats. Her hair was slightly curled and she had put on a bit of makeup. Everything was ready.

She hoped.

When the garage door opened and three vehicles came roaring in, K smiled. Hicks and the Colonel were in a jeep with Scott, while Ziggy was climbing out of Flynn's hummer and Dillon and Summer were helping Tenaya out of the Fury. "Hey Doc," Dillon grinned.

"Welcome," she greeted, and let out a squeak when Dillon pulled her into a hug. He was followed by the others. "I'm glad you could come."

"We wouldn't have missed it for the world," Scott told her, pulling away. "Let's party!"

ZKZKZK

She was going to kill Gem. Absolutely kill him. She silently calculated how long it would take her to redo the Gold Morpher….maybe Hicks wouldn't mind wearing a bio suit. With a heavy sigh, she stared up at the sprig of mistletoe hanging above where she and Ziggy were standing. She hadn't been aware the former Gold Ranger had hung any of the cursed plants in the garage.

"You know tradition!" Flynn teased from where he sat on a couch.

K shot him the dirtiest look she could muster before turning back to Ziggy. It wasn't that she didn't want to kiss him, she just didn't want to do it in front of everyone. Ziggy was already leaning in, eyes closed, when she turned and walked away.

ZKZKZK

He found himself kissing air while K walked away to the shock of the entire team. He shrugged on the outside, but his heart, however, broke a little more. Watching her head for the kitchen, he tried to understand. He had thought they were passed the point where she found it necessary to walk away from him instead of talking to him about things.

Summer, bless her, went to talk to K while Dillon came over to put and arm around his shoulders. "Please don't," Ziggy started, shaking his head. "I realize it's hopeless."

Dillon shook his head. "Keep trying, she's just scared. You know the Doc, she has a hard time letting people in, especially when they matter."

Ziggy prayed. Who'd have ever thought those words would EVER come out of Dillon of all people. "I thought we were passed this."

"Ziggy, how long did it take Summer to get through to me?"

"Months."

"Okay then. Give it time," Dillon encouraged him. "But don't give up. She's been through a hell of a lot."

ZKZKZK

Ziggy grinned. All through dinner, he'd been quiet and had plotted what to do about K. He decided the only possible course of action was to follow her until she gave in. "FOR THE LAST TIME, NO! And stop following me!"

"No can do, Doc. It's tradition; you get caught under the mistletoe, you kiss. End of story."

"Then go kiss yourself!"

"That's not any fun," he teased. "Come on, Doc. What's the big deal?"

Dr. K whirled around, eyes full of tears and glared at him. "The big deal, as you put it, is that I don't know how to kiss because I've never been kissed before! HAPPY?"

Gasps sounded all around, but Ziggy put them out of his mind and focused on K. without a word, he reached out to her and cupped her flushed face gently. He felt her stiffen but didn't back off. Instead, it made him all the more determined to make her remember her first kiss. Drawing her close, he leaned in, kissing her forehead, her eyelids, before moving to either cheek. He felt her shudder in surrender before those beautiful blue eyes opened to look up at him.

"Ziggy…"

"Just relax," he murmured, his lips a breath away from her own. The world around them ceased to exist. "I won't hurt you."

In the background, K's fuzzy mind could hear the song Gemma had asked her about a few days before playing softly. Faith Hill's hauntingly beautiful voice during 'Where Are You Christmas' was the perfect accompaniment to her first kiss.

"Ziggy…" she whispered again even as his mouth merged with hers. The well of tenderness in the kiss stole her breath away. Finally, she gave in, closing her eyes against the sensation.

The former Green Ranger fought to keep the meeting of mouths light, so as to not scare her, but the instant she whimpered against his mouth and tried pushing closer, he lost it. His mouth avidly attached hers. He nipped her lips before using his tongue to sooth, then he drove the pink appendage through the seem of her lips to duel with her own.

When air became a necessity, they pulled back, panting heavily. "Doc?"

"Hmm?"

"Merry Christmas."

K's beautiful eyes fluttered opened and she smiled up at him. "Merry Christmas Ziggy."


	12. 12: A Blue's Blue Without Her Navy

Where Are You Christmas  
Chapter 12: A Blue's Blue Without Her Navy  
By: Pink-Green-white-4ever

Last Revised: December 12, 2010  
Summary: The calmness of the blue water of her element couldn't calm the yearning in her heart for a holiday, just one holiday, with the strong navy who was her love.  
Rating: T  
Ship: Blue/Navy

Disclaimer: Don't own the Rangers (SABAN DOES!) and I don't own the song, that's Faith Hill's.

BTBTBT

In the early evening light, standing on the wrap-around porch of the girls' dorm, she watched the students in the courtyard help Shane, Dustin and Cam decorate the giant Christmas tree that Sensei had ordered be put up. While it rarely snowed in Blue Bay Harbor, there were still remnants of snow on the ground, making her wrinkle her nose at how dirty the once pristine white substance had turned. She and Cam had spent a good portion of two weeks working up a way to create snow for the academy this year. Luckily, they'd been able to use her water power, Cam's brain power, and Shane's wind power to spread the fluffy white stuff all over the academy grounds. Almost a week later and it was nearly time for them to try again, because the snow was down to small piles of brown and black slush.

With a sigh, she closed her eyes. This time of year always made her sad, despite the cheer of the season. It seemed no matter how much planning they did, Blake's manager and the team president of his racing company always booked him in a race far from home. This year he was in Switzerland, and wouldn't be back until New Years since a giant snow storm had hit the town he was staying in. They'd been dating for nearly seven years now and had as of yet to spend a Christmas together. It was hard for her, because she had to watch Dustin and Marah, Cam and Hunter, and now Shane and Kelly together, in a romantic way, each holiday season. She was extremely happy for her friends, but for once, she didn't want to get the short end of the stick and be the overnight chaperone for their students who were staying on at the academy instead of going home for Christmas.

Part of her wanted to just say forget it all and go visit Kira in Reefside for the Christmas holidays, but then she remembered this Christmas the newly married Conner and Kira were taking their parents up to Big Bear for a joint family holiday. It was weird knowing the former Red and Yellow Dino Rangers were married now. She couldn't say she'd seen that relationship coming when they'd started dating a few years ago, but now, it was almost as natural as seeing Doctor Oliver happily married to his beloved former Pink Ranger. Which reminded her, she needed to send out her Christmas cards for all the teams, and if need be, get addresses from Kimberly for those who she'd yet to meet.

When Marah and Kapri joined the boys, who were decorating the tree, Tori pushed away from the pole she'd been leaning on and headed toward her room. She just wasn't in the mood to watch her friends; instead she was already thinking about taking in a movie to help pass the time.

BTBTBT

1 Week Later

Even for southern California, she found it extremely chilly. But then, she also knew global warming was wreaking havoc on the world's weather patterns (a prime example being the snow storm that hit Reefside not long ago) so it wasn't so out of place in the grand scheme of things. Walking along the storefronts of Blue Bay Harbor, she saw each was decorated for the coming holiday. Just a few more days, she kept reminding herself. Just a few more days to put up with the holiday cheer. It was such a shame she was ready for this time of year to be over with, because as a child she'd delighted in the Christmas season.

She walked past Kelly's shop and stopped. A couple was standing a few doors down and the young man was kneeling in front of his girlfriend, a ring box in hand and open. Tears rushed to Tori's eyes as she watched him look up at his beloved, and though she couldn't hear what he said to her, she didn't need to know, not when she could see the brunette's face light up as she threw herself into his arms.

With a sigh, the blond turned away from the scene and continued to head into Kelly's, only to be stopped when she saw a closed sign on the door. Narrowing her eyes, she wracked her brain for a reason for the shop to be closed. The group had been at Kelly's the previous night to exchange gifts seeing how Shane was taking the red-head to spend Christmas with his brother. She'd made no mention of the shop closing down this close to Christmas. With a frustrated sigh at the lack of being able to talk to Kelly about everything, she turned and headed for her van. She never saw the figure standing near one of the display windows, staring at her from the inside of the shop.

BTBTBT

4 Days Later  
Christmas Night

Even as cold as it was outside, Tori was in her element in the most basic of ways. She stood at the center of the pond where the Water Ninjas practiced. Legs together, she stood atop the water, effortless in her display of power as she made the water twirl and dance and change color around her. As her mind drifted to each of her teammates, she managed to manipulate the water to change to that specific teammate's Ranger color.

There was a light dusting of snow on the ground, courtesy of her and Cam the night before. She'd been surprised when all of the team, except Blake, had walked into Ninja Ops the night before to celebrate Christmas. Shane and Hunter had both said it felt too lonely being away from the team for the holiday and had come back early enough. Kapri and Marah had given Tori Christmas Eve and Christmas Day off from being the chaperone in the dorms. She wished she'd had something more to do then flex her power to keep her mind off another holiday passing without Blake there.

He had called her that morning and they'd talked for nearly four hours. He'd asked if her present had arrived yet, to which she'd sighed and told him she was afraid not. She still found it odd that he'd promised it'd be there before Christmas was over. She wondered exactly how hard he'd hit his head recently to think that the post office would be delivering anything on the holiday. Instead of arguing with him, she'd just made a noise at that and left it alone.

The sudden shaking of the earth caused the water around her to ripple, followed by a strong breeze and the rumble of thunder and a shower of light from the lightening that speared across the sky to catch her attention. If she didn't know any better, she'd say the boys were coming to visit her, even though she'd told them she needed a few minutes alone.

Turning toward the shore, she contemplated what to say to them when she saw the lone figure standing on the bank, dressed in the familiar black and dark blue of the Thunder Ninja uniform. Heart in her throat, she watched him smile before she began her sprint across the water and straight into his arms.

He let out a laugh when she threw her arms around his neck and wrapped her legs around his waist, nearly knocking them both over on the ground. "Miss me?" he teased gently, arms tightening around her waist when he felt her shudder. "Tor?"

She said nothing, choosing instead to bury her face against the warm, strong column of his neck. She wasn't usually a crier, but having him home and in her arms broke the damn. Her tears were hot against his skin, alarming him to no end. Realizing she probably needed a few minutes to just let go, Blake just simply stood there holding her, murmuring a steady stream of words to sooth her that would be forgotten later on. He knew how disappointed she'd been that yet again it seemed like they would miss spending the holiday together.

Luckily for him, he was finally able to put his foot down. He'd fired his manager a few weeks before, and went straight to the team president, who'd been unaware that all these years Blake hadn't, in fact, wanted to be racing or doing meet and greets during the holidays. The team president had been more than happy to let the former Ranger head home for the holidays. It hadn't been easy to keep the secret from Tori, but he'd had help. The entire team had tried to keep her occupied and home for the holidays, instead of heading out to meet up with her friends from other teams. Considering how strong her reaction was, he had the feeling he was going to be making up for all the missed holidays for years to come.

"Merry Christmas," he whispered in her ear.

"Merry Christmas!" she laughed, leaning back to kiss him noisily on his lips. "What are you doing home?"

"It's a very, VERY long story," he explained, rubbing his nose against hers. "Needless to say, I am going to be home for Christmas from now own. Miss me?"

Her eyes sparkled with another onslaught of tears. "What do you think?"

"I think it's a Merry Christmas indeed," he laughed, nipping her chin before kissing her lips. "Let's go inside and warm up."

BTBTBT

They were tucked together in the center of her bed, bodies glistening with sweat and skin glowing with the after effects of making love to one another. She lay with her head on his shoulder and her hand fisted over his heart, his arms holding her tightly. Candles she kept around the room in case of a power outage were lit and casting a warm, golden glow over everything. And in the background, her radio was on and turned to an adult contemporary station that was playing Christmas music in celebration of the holiday.

For the first time in a long time, Tori felt content with where she was and how her life was going. When they'd come in earlier, Blake had painstakingly explained what had happened weeks before. It took a lot to upset the Blue Wind Ranger, but the tale of why they'd spent so many holidays apart had certainly done it. Blake had done a lot of finagling to get her to calm down, and even then he finally had to resort to making love to her to get her to completely put her anger aside. His words still resonated in her head, "Let it be; we're together now."

While she was lying there, Tori perked up when she heard a familiar song come across the radio. She could tell Blake was almost asleep, so she tried not to disturb him as she moved to turn the stereo's volume up. With the soft melody of Faith Hill's voice floating on the air, she thought, for the first time, how much the song reminded her of all the Christmas' she and Blake had spent apart. Not to mention, it was the title song to one of her favorite holiday movies – The Grinch Who Stole Christmas staring Jim Carey. 'Where Are You Christmas?' had been an anthem that had latched onto her heart when both Kira and Kim had told her about how the song had somehow changed their lives in regards to their former teammates and loves. Lying back, she snuggled against Blake again, feeling the happy tears trickle down her cheek. "Tor?" his sleepy voice murmured as his arms tightened around her, drawing her even closer to him. "You okay?"

"Perfect," she smiled.

"Missed you," he told her as he rubbed his lips against her forehead.

"I missed you too," she responded, rubbing her opened palm over his heart. "I'm happy you're home."

Another kiss accompanied her confession. "Me too," he breathed, and then she heard him curse.

"What?" she laughed, tilting her head up to look at him. "What's wrong?"

"I forgot your actual present. It's in my bag."

"I thought you were my present?" she teased.

He smirked at her seconds before he flipped them over on the bed, so that she was beneath him and he was hovering over her. His lips found hers; warm, wet, lush kisses were exchanged before they both pulled back, breathless. "I was, but I did actually get you something. Be right back."

She sat up while he prowled across the room and enjoyed the sight of her naked boyfriend. In the candle light, his skin all but glowed bronze. She wasn't a shallow person, prided herself on not being, but she could readily admit her boyfriend was sexy as hell. "If that's Swiss chocolates in there, I'm not sharing with anyone!" she teased, causing him to chuckle and look at her. She returned the look with a wiggle of her eyebrows and a sexy smirk.

"I don't think you can eat this," he explained, reaching into his bag and pulling out a fist sized box. Her eyebrows shot up when he strode back to the bed, crawling under the covers with her.

"Oh?"

"We've been together for nearly a decade, Tori," he spoke, making her smile and nod. "Even after everything we went through, you never gave me a hard time about leaving to race. You've put up with a lot of crap from me, in every conceivable way."

"I love you."

"I know," he grinned, reaching out to cup her face with one hand while he brought the other up and popped the box, what she knew was a jewelry box, open. Her mouth dropped open when the ring nestled inside the black velvet sparkled in the glow from the candles. "I love you. Will you marry me?"

The Blue Wind Ranger looked startled by the words that had come from his mouth. They'd talked about marriage and family before, but it had been in the far off future. She hadn't expected him to ask her, not when they'd hardly spent any time together this last year due to work commitments. "Blake?"

He tilted his head to his chest, his face looking flushed and apologetic. "I know we haven't gotten to spend a lot of time together lately, and I know we only talked about it that once," the words whooshed out as his head came up fast, his eyes staring into hers. "I'm going to take some more time off, be here and at the Thunder Academy more. I'm ready to start transitioning, Tori, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want you, and I want to have kids. Marry me?"

To Tori, she saw not only his hope that she'd say yes, but the fear that her answer would be no. She'd never really thought Blake could be afraid, not like this. It seemed she was the one always questioning their relationship, but for the first time, she saw the fear in him that he'd lost some part of her, perhaps the most vital part of her – her desire to be with him. She felt an ache so acute in her chest that it took her breath away; she needed to reassure him he hadn't lost her. "I love you, more than you will ever know," she whispered, reaching up to cup his face in her hands. "Yes, I'll marry you."

Before she could say anything, Blake was leaning forward and kissing her so softly, so incredibly gentle, that it took her breath away. "I love you," he final answered her, moving to put the ring on her finger.

"Blake?"

"Yeah?"

"Soon, I want to do it soon. I don't want big and splashy, I just want it soon," she told him.

He smiled and nodded, leaning forward to kiss her brow. "Try and get that past Kimberly once she finds out, but I agree. SOON."


	13. 13: Red Gets A White Christmas Present

Where Are You Christmas  
Chapter 13: Red Gets A White Christmas Present  
By: Pink-Green-white-4ever  
Last Revised: December 12, 2010

Summary: For the first time since they met and became teammates, this Red is spending Christmas without his White, and wishing for her terribly  
Rating: T  
Ship: Red/White  
Disclaimer: Don't own the Rangers (SABAN DOES!) and I don't own the song, that's Faith Hill's.

CACACA

He waved the last of his clients out of his office, smiling until he closed the door and sagged against it. Generally, he was more than happy to spend plenty of office time with those who brought their animals to him, but for once, he just wanted to get out of the office and brood at home. He wasn't a moody person by nature; that was generally Taylor's lot in life, and that thought did make him smile a little. No, he was normally the optimistic one, the take each day as it comes one. But this holiday season, he just didn't feel like it.

His reason for being cheery was on the East Coast for an undetermined amount of time, taking classes at Harvard and caring for her ailing father. While he couldn't begrudge her time with her father that was so very precious, or the education she was furthering, this was the first Christmas since he'd met her that he'd be without her. Even when they'd both been in school and living hours apart, they'd still managed to get together for Christmas Eve and Christmas. This year, it just wasn't going to be the same. Their apartment was decked out in all the decorations they'd had before they'd moved in together and with all the ones they'd bought in the four years since they'd been living there.

He just wasn't in the mood to celebrate, which was sad because the holiday season was his favorite time of the year. It was generally filled with wonder, innocence, peace, and most of all love. He thought of the ring box that was sitting in the top drawer of his dresser. He'd been hoping to give it to her this year, but now he knew it would have to wait.

With a shake of his head, he locked the front door to his office and headed back to finish up some paperwork, his mind wandering to what he was going to have for dinner and deciding he may just go out and eat. He'd cooked enough meals for one in the last couple of weeks.

CACACA

A heavy sigh escaped him as he walked into their empty apartment and kicked the door shut behind him. He carried his backpack and a large paper bag filled with dinner. He was kind of mad at himself because the one time he finally decided to go out for dinner, he chose her favorite restaurant and her favorite meal – a hearty helping of minestrone soup and vegetarian stuffed shells. Closing his eyes a minute, he struggled with his subconscious trying to sabotage his feeble attempt to forget that she wasn't with him. When he felt a warm, wet nose brush against his hand, his eyes snapped open and he looked down at the dogs. Lion was sitting in front of him, his adoring eyes sad as can be as he looked up at Cole's face. Tiger was a few feet away, her head resting on her front paws, looking as lonely and defeated as Cole felt. "Hey you two," he greeted, leaning down to rub a hand over Lion's head before he moved passed the dog and toward the kitchen. He stopped next to Tiger, crouched down, and gave her a long, loving rub. "I know, you miss your mom as much as I do. Maybe we'll call her later and I'll let you talk to her." When Tiger didn't move, Cole shook his head and moved around her into the kitchen. He set the bag with his diner on the counter, moved to get the food for the dogs out of the cupboard and got busy feeding them.

Task done, he headed for his and Alyssa's bedroom and stripped off his clothes from the day, pulling on a pair of black and red sweat pants before heading for the kitchen. Grabbing his dinner, he moved to the dining room table and sat down to eat. He liked his solitude once in a while, but overall, he was a social animal, he needed people and noise. The tomb-like silence of the apartment was driving him insane. Frustrated, he pushed back from the table and was going to go turn the television on but the phone started ringing. It gave him a start, but he headed over and snatched the cordless headset from its stand and answered. "Hello?"

"Hey buddy!" Max's enthusiastic voice echoed through the receiver.

"Max, what's up?"

"Well, see, Danny and I were just thinking, we haven't hung out with you in forever and since Kendall is going to be with her friends for the evening, we figured we call and see if you were up to a night on the town," the former Blue Ranger rushed on and on. Cole knew his young friend was trying to make sure he couldn't say no, and while he appreciated the effort, he just really didn't feel like going out.

Sighing, he shook his head. "I appreciate the offer, but I'm just going to hang out around the house…"

"Danny told me to tell you that if you decline, he's calling Taylor for back up."

Cole let out a string of silent curses when the former Yellow Ranger was mentioned. Taylor was often very detached from anything personal when it came to the team, unless she really saw the need to poke her nose in someone's business. Knowing Danny and Max, they'd tell her he was hiding in his apartment, away from the world, brooding over his girlfriend being absent. That meant Taylor would be honor bound to come pull him out of his funk. "Damn it, I hate it when you two do that," he sighed, shaking his head when he heard Max snickering. "What time do you want to come get me?"

"We'll be there by nine thirty!" Max all but sang before he hung up the phone. Jabbing the power button, Cole almost slammed the phone back on its cradle, thought otherwise, and then stormed off toward the table. He had forty minutes to eat, shower and get ready before his friends came to get him.

CACACA

Muttering about the cold, he pulled his jacket around him tighter. He hated the bitter coldness of winter, especially since he'd grown up in the tropical climate of the South American jungle. Grumbling, he bowed his head and walked up the street toward his apartment building. When he got to the steps that led into the main hallway, he found a familiar figure sitting on the steps. She was dressed in a leather bomber jacket that he knew was about three sizes too big and had to have been stole from Eric. "Taylor, what the heck are you sitting out here at two thirty in the morning for?" he demanded, stopping in front of her.

"Delivering your Christmas present," she replied, snarky as ever. "It's already inside your apartment getting warm."

"How'd you get into the apartment?" he countered.

Taylor smirked at him. "I have my ways, Jungle Boy, I have my ways. Merry Christmas," she said as she stood. In a moment of sheer awkwardness she leaned forward and kissed his cheek. "I'll call you Christmas night to see how you like it." And with that, she jogged down the steps and disappeared down the street to wherever her car presumably was.

Baffled, as he usually was whenever Taylor acted completely out of character, Cole just shook his head and trudged inside. His intent at this point was to crawl into bed and sleep for the next two days until Christmas was over. He had no plans to answer the phone tomorrow or the day after. He was going to feed the dogs, avoid the television or the phone, and just tune the world out in general.

Those plans flew out the window the second he walked into his apartment.

The tree was lit, the lights twinkling. The stereo was on, turned to one Alyssa's favorite stations, and one of their favorite holiday songs, Where Are You Christmas, was playing softly. Most startling of all, the house smelled like fresh baked cookies. Frowning, he undid his scarf, shrugged out of his jacket and headed for the kitchen.

Shock and a joy so fierce squeezed his heart when he got a good look at his present, who was currently sitting on the counter in a pair of gray sweat pants, nibbling on a sugar cookie, and happily watching the dogs chomp down on dog bones. "You're home!" he grinned, causing her head to whip up and a smile to light her eyes. Before he had time to think, she was diving off the counter and right into his open arms.

"Hi!" she laughed, leaning up to kiss him softly on the lips as he held her tightly. "Miss me?"

With a strangled sound, he buried his face in the side of her neck, his lips seeking the warm, softly scented skin that tasted so good to him. She shivered in his arms, her own tightening around him. "I thought you weren't going to make it back for Christmas?" he asked, pulling back to frame her face.

"Dad's feeling tons better so the doctor suggested he take a week and go someplace warm and tropical. I told him he needed to go alone because I had something I really needed to do for Christmas. He told me to tell you that you'd better take good care of me," she laughed.

"Danny, Max, Kendall and Taylor were in on this, weren't they?" he asked, watching her grin and nod.

"Don't be mad…"

He shook his head and merely tugged her against his chest. "You have no idea how much I wanted you to be here and how much I wasn't looking forward to being here without you."

"Cole…" she murmured, kissing him softly. "I love you, so much, and this is exactly where I need and want to be – at home, with you."

"I love you too, Merry Christmas." As they kissed again there in the kitchen, he grinned against her lips, his mind thinking that the box in his dresser was going to actually be taken out sometime in the next two days, and hopefully would start the next phase of their life together.


	14. 14: Silver Gives Pink Her Christmas Wish

Where Are You Christmas  
Chapter 14: Silver Gives Pink Her Christmas Wish  
By: Pink-Green-white-4ever  
Last Revised: December 18, 2011

Summary: All she wanted for Christmas was for her family to be together, all he wanted to do was grant her, her heart's desire.  
Rating: T  
Ship: Silver/Pink

Disclaimer: Don't own the Rangers (SABAN DOES!) and I don't own the song, that's Faith Hill's.

AN: This is set Christmas of 2002 *winks*

ZKZKZK

3:15 P.M. - Monday  
December 16th, 2002  
KO-35

She was restless and quiet and he was starting to go crazy from watching her mope around their house. At nine months pregnant, and so close to her due date, he figured she'd be in nesting mode, or at least that's what he expected after watching Ashley go through it the year before. But no, his wife was curled up on the couch, her eyes unfocused as she stared out the window, looking for a figure he wasn't sure was going to be showing up any time soon. The worst part was, he understood how she was feeling. He too wanted to see the familiar frame dressed in red and gray come up the side walk as he had many times before. This year, it just wasn't going to happen.

It was very nearly Christmas, a holiday that they'd enjoyed ever since Ashley had come to live on KO-35. Christmas was a religious holiday on Earth, first and foremost, and a secular one for most everyone else but they'd created their own kind of Christmas, and for their team, it meant family and being together. This Christmas, it just wasn't going to be the same. All the former Silver Ranger could do was shake his head and think to call his sister-in-law to see if she'd heard anything from her husband.

The fact was, the former Red Space Ranger had come out of retirement earlier in the year to track the remnants of the Machine Empire. Alongside T.J. and eight other Red Rangers, Andros had been in a battle some time before, and had destroyed Lord Zedd's personal Zord, Serpentara. However, it wasn't like the old days where they could just go back to their lives after a battle was over. Andros had had to stay on Earth, to help clean up the mess, but more importantly, to plan with the other Red Rangers and the governments of Earth for any future events like this that might occur. He'd been gone for nearly six months, and only knew that his baby sister was pregnant because when he'd called after the battle, she'd been with Ashley and had spoken to him.

While Zhane was terrified of what his best friend was going to say about becoming an uncle, he was upset that Andros hadn't made it back, and probably wouldn't, before Christmas or the birth of his niece or nephew. Zhane knew that Karone craved having her brother with her when she brought the child she carried into this world. It was one thing to have him and Ashley with her, but they weren't her blood relatives, much as she loved them. She couldn't have her parents there, because they were both long dead, but she had a living breathing big brother and she wanted him home with her.

Catching sight of the tears running rivers down her cheeks, Zhane cursed softly. He heard the song playing on the radio and knew that it wasn't helping his wife's mood. Faith Hill had a stunning voice, but the lyrics to her song, 'Where Are You Christmas', were not going to help Karone's frame of mind. Muttering crossly to himself, he turned for the vid-com. He was damn well going to do his best to make his wife's Christmas wish come true.

ZKZKZK

8:00 A.M. - Tuesday  
December 24th, 2002  
Hospital – KO-35

"Feeling okay?" Cassie asked, brushing sweaty strands of blonde hair from Karone's face.

"Tired," the former Pink Galaxy Ranger sighed, leaning back against the pillows. Maya sat at the end of her bed, rubbing Karone's feet. Maya's own belly was just starting to round, revealing her and Mike's growing child. Kendrix stood near the door, her and Leo's tow-headed son braced on her hip as she talked to the doctor. Carlos and Damon sat on the floor, entertaining Cassie and T.J.'s two year old son and Ashley and Andros' one year old daughter. Karone did a mental count and tried to remember where everyone else was. Mike and Kai had gone to Earth to give Leo, Andros and T.J. a hand, Kai's wife Hannah was busy with their two year old son and work on Mirinoi but had sent a vid message and flowers, and Zhane and Ashley had been called to the government building on an emergency call from the ambassador. She hoped, with all her might, that it wasn't anything serious and that her sister and her husband would be there soon. If she couldn't have her brother with her, she wanted the other two members of her family close by.

"Relax," Maya murmured, stroking strong fingers up and down Karone's calves. "Stressing out isn't going to help the baby."

"I know," she gasped as a particularly strong contraction hit. "I just wish…"

Cassie leaned down and kissed her forehead. "They'll be here in time, have a little faith," the former Pink Space Ranger grinned. "They had to stop and get something for you after they were done with the ambassador."

Karone nodded and focused herself on breathing as her contractions grew stronger, gripping her body and causing her to cry out softly. "Breathe," Kendrix ordered as she handed her son to Damon and moved to the opposite side Karone's bed.

Squeezing her eyes shut, Karone could only nod once and focused her attention on her breathing, hoping it would ease some of the pain caused by her body trying to give life to her child. "I wish Zhane and Andros were here!" she cried out seconds before her body relaxed and she flopped back against the pillows. Cassie, Kendrix and Maya shared a look that said they hoped the same.

ZKZKZK

12:00 P.M.

"I hope I'm not late!" Hannah giggled as she walked in, toting her little boy in her arms. Karone shot her a small smile and shook her head.

"No, your niece or nephew still hasn't made their appearance," the former Pink Ranger softly murmured, patting her belly.

"That's good, because I found something you wanted for Christmas," Hannah commented seconds before Ashley and Zhane strode into the room, followed by another, much beloved, figure.

"ANDROS!"

He grinned and quickly moved toward her open arms, leaning down to kiss her forehead and hug her as tight as he could. He stroked her softly along the back of her head and held her to him. "Shhh," he soothed. "Did you think I'd honestly miss this?" he asked, pulling back to look down into her tear filled eyes. "You're bringing my niece or nephew into this world, I'm not missing this!"

"I'm glad you're here," she choked, seconds before she cried out at the contraction. Kendrix, Cassie and Maya jumped up and began moving to help her through.

"I'll get the doctor," Hannah supplied as the boys moved the kids out of the room. "Mike and Kai are in the hallway," she told them before she rushed out.

ZKZKZK

4:30 P.M.

"So?" he asked, sitting on the side of her bed.

"What?"

"Did you like your present?" he asked, leaning over her to rub his lips against hers before looking down at their daughter.

She eyed him carefully. "How'd you get him home?" she asked, tears choking her voice as he looked up from playing with the baby's hands.

"Put a few calls in to some former spandex wearing superheroes and may have called in a few favors with NASADA," he shrugged. "It's not like they needed him that badly for a few days, Tommy's got everything under control for now."

"Beloved," she murmured, reaching out to cup his cheek and lift his face to hers. "Thank you."

"I love you, there isn't anything I wouldn't do for you," he reminded her, turning so he could kiss her palm.

A knock at the door brought them out of their little world for two. It was followed by Ashley darting her head inside. "Safe to come in?"

"Yep," Karone grinned then yawned as Ashley, Andros, Cassie, T.J. and Carlos came in together.

"Well?" Carlos prompted, gesturing to the baby.

Karone laughed while Zhane just glared at his former teammate. "Well what?" the proud daddy grumbled.

"Do we get a name or not?" T.J. laughingly asked, his arm around Cassie.

"Zoe Kalani," Karone nuzzled her sleeping daughter.

"Welcome to the family, little girl," Andros greeted as her newborn baby blues opened up and stared at him before she reached a hand out and grabbed his hair. "And just like your mom, your cousin, and your aunt, you're already playing with my hair."

The comment sent the others into soft, delighted laughter as Andros nuzzled the side of her face, planting gentle kisses on her neck.


End file.
